The Starship system, created by SpaceX, will make another attempt at an orbital flight on Friday after the first attempt in April ended in an explosion. The US FAA has given approval for the launch, which will take place under favorable weather conditions and the absence of technical problems.

The Federal Aviation Administration has given Elon Musk’s company the go-ahead for a second orbital launch nearly seven months after the first failed test on April 20.

The launch will take place from Starbase Boca Chica, Texas, on Friday, November 17, in a two-hour “window” starting at 8:00 AM local time (3:00 AM Romanian time). If it doesn’t work out on Friday, the “reserve” dates are November 18 and 19.

• VIDEO SpaceX launched the world’s largest Starship rocket. Both rocket stages exploded three minutes after launch

The system consists of two parts: the Starship is the spacecraft/booster stage (with six Raptor engines) and the Super Heavy is the booster/main stage with 33 Raptor engines needed to escape Earth’s gravity.

In this test, Elon Musk and his people hope that the superheavy rocket and Starship will stay in space even longer. Three minutes after launch, the two mega-elements should separate and go their separate ways. In this test, too, SpaceX will not recover any of the elements, but hopes they will successfully separate and land successfully in the ocean (Super Heavy eight minutes after launch, Starship 90 minutes).

The Starship stage, which is 50 meters long and equipped with six Raptor engines, should reach Earth orbit during this test in the fall of 2023 or one that is likely to take place in early 2024. If the Starship reaches orbit, another critical “threshold” will be for the heat shield to withstand temperatures of thousands of degrees Celsius after re-entry into the atmosphere.

The Starship rocket is essential to NASA’s Artemis program to return humans to the Moon, so it’s important to conduct as many tests as possible at the shortest possible intervals.

On April 20, Starship lifted off in full configuration for the first time, but several engines failed and the SpaceX ground team intentionally detonated the rocket with the Flight Termination System (FTS).

The detonation occurred at an altitude of 40 km, but the thrown debris also destroyed part of the launch pad. These months, SpaceX installed a launch vibration damping system on the ramp.

In addition, permission from the US Fish and Wildlife Service was required because the launch site is in a sensitive area.