A few days ago, SpaceX brought the new Starship system, consisting of two huge stages, to the launch site in Texas. Both April 2023 and November 2023 tests ended in explosions, but the company needs to conduct more frequent launches of the world’s largest rocket.

Starting the Starship systemPhoto by Joe Marino/UPI/Profimedia Images

SpaceX’s rocket 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.

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It is not known when the US FAA will give the green light for this third orbital test, but Elon Musk wrote on X that it could happen in three weeks, which is in early March.

The two components were delivered to the Starbase Texas launch pad a few days ago, but are awaiting the green light from the FAA, which is still investigating what happened to an earlier version of the Starship that launched three months ago. Then both stages exploded: the first after three minutes, the second – after eight minutes

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SpaceX made two attempts with the Starship in its full configuration, both of which ended in explosions of both components.

On April 20, 2023, Starship lifted off in full configuration for the first time, but several engines failed and SpaceX ground crews intentionally detonated the rocket using the Flight Termination System (FTS).

Things went a little better on November 18, 2023, with the two stages successfully separating three minutes after launch, but things went wrong after that. The Space Heavy’s stage disintegrated shortly after separation from the Starship, while the Starship’s engines continued to run for a few more minutes, and the shuttle lifted off before exploding.

It is important that SpaceX conduct as many tests as possible with Starship, get the rocket into orbit, and return the components to earth for reuse. Starship rockets will play an important role in missions to the moon, including NASA missions, and the delays are starting to put pressure on the established schedule.

Source: Space.com