SpaceX teased a tentative date for the third launch of its Starship rocket. The corporate posted a hyperlink on X for viewing Starship’s third flight take a look at subsequent week after having accomplished a moist gown rehearsal for its huge rocket on Sunday evening.
The reside feed for Starship’s take a look at flight is at the moment scheduled for March 14 at 7:30 a.m. ET. Earlier this week, SpaceX carried out a fueling test for its Starship rocket on the firm’s Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas.
In the course of the launch rehearsal, SpaceX loaded Starship with over 10 million kilos of methane and liquid oxygen propellant and counted all the way down to T-10 seconds earlier than halting the mock launch. The rocket’s {hardware} appeared to have fared effectively throughout the rehearsal, trying like an orbital Batmobile whereas perched on its launchpad.
Issues are trying good for Starship’s upcoming take a look at flight. In late February, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) introduced that it closed its investigation into Starship’s second test flight, which occurred on November 18, 2023.
Starship’s second take a look at flight resulted within the in-flight destruction of both the Super Heavy booster and upper stage, but it surely was nonetheless a serious enchancment from the first time the rocket lifted off on April 20, 2023.
As a part of the FAA investigation, SpaceX recognized the basis causes of the failed take a look at and got here up with 17 corrective actions. Seven of these corrective actions needed to do with the Tremendous Heavy booster, together with redesigns of auto {hardware} and enhancements in management system modeling, with the remaining ten corrective actions associated to the higher stage.
Earlier than it may launch Starship for the third time, SpaceX nonetheless wants a license modification from the FAA “that addresses all security, environmental and different relevant regulatory necessities,” the federal company wrote in an emailed assertion in February. We’re unsure when or if the FAA plans to challenge its license, however SpaceX appears fairly assured that it’ll be granted earlier than the scheduled launch subsequent week.
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