SpaceX will conduct the third test of the Starship system already on Thursday, the mission will be to reach Earth’s orbit. “Starship Flight 3” will be launched from Texas and has more ambitious goals than previous rockets launched by Elon Musk’s company. SpaceX made two attempts with Starship in its full configuration, both ending in explosions of two large components in April and November 2023.

The launch should take place on March 14 at 8:00 am ET (2:00 pm Romanian time), but delays can occur at any time, as this is a complex mission that must be taken into account, and weather conditions will also be important factors Since. There may also be last-minute technical issues that can cause further delays.

SpaceX says that in this third attempt, it will apply what it learned from the previous two attempts, and the third flight has the most goals for now because more things will be tested, a new trajectory will be used, and the Starship segment must return to Earth in a controlled manner. This is the most ambitious launch of the Starship system in full “formation”.

The SpaceX 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.

The two components were delivered in the first decade of February to the launch pad of Starbase Texas.

The previous version of Starship, launched four months ago, failed to reach orbit. Then both stages exploded: the first after three minutes, the second – after eight minutes.

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 separating 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.