SpaceX is preparing to launch the fifth high-speed Starship spacecraft from its Texas missile facilities this week.
Unlike its predecessors, this special mega-ship is a relative of NASA’s next monthly lander – the vehicle that will put boots on the lunar surface for the first time since 1972.
Starship series no. 11 or SN15 is the latest in a series of Starship prototypes that SpaceX is launching up to six miles above Boca Chica, Texas.
As the SN15 approaches the top of its flight, it should stop one by one the three Raptor engines the size of a truck. Then the SN15 should turn sideways and throw itself back to Earth, using four wing flaps to control its fall.
As it approaches the ground, the SN15 should restart its engines to overturn again in an upright position and to descend slightly to the landing platform. However, his predecessors failed here.
The first two prototypes that rose to high altitude, SN8 and SN9, hit the high-speed landing platform and exploded immediately. The third, SN10, landed in one piece, but exploded 10 minutes later. The fourth, SN11, exploded in the air as it re-ignited its landing engines.
From left to right: SN8, SN9 and SN10 explosions.
Gene Blevins / Reuters; SPadre.com
For SpaceX, the explosions during rocket development are equal to the course.
“I use a different development philosophy from the government, which is: Fly. If something goes wrong, try to fix it. Fly again. If something else goes wrong, try to fix it,” said John Logsdon, founder of the George Institute. University of Washington space policy and former member of NASA’s Advisory Board, he told Insider after the starship’s fourth explosion. “People complimented SpaceX on how fast it moves.”
But, he added, “the fact that they had these early problems of the development program means that there will have to be a record of success before anyone, except the one who takes extreme risks, is willing to get on board.”
Understanding the landing is even more critical now that NASA has chosen Starship to land the next astronauts on the moon.
The agency announced Friday that it is working with SpaceX to turn Starship into the monthly lander that will begin its Artemis program, which aims to establish a permanent human presence on the moon. NASA hopes to land its first equipped Starship there in 2024, but a new report from NASA’s Office of the Inspector General found that it is “very unlikely” that the agency will meet that deadline.
Illustration of the human SpaceX Starship project that will transport NASA astronauts to the surface of the moon during the Artemis mission.
SpaceX
At the end of SpaceX, a major step towards the moon will be the flight and landing of starships here on Earth – without blowing them up.
SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk has ambitions beyond the lunar surface. Eventually, he said, he plans to build 1,000 astral ships to carry people and cargo to Mars and establish a settlement there.
Musk said On Thursday on Twitter that the company intended to launch SN15 sometime this week. Government permits indicate that Tuesday and Wednesday could provide flight opportunities.
The Federal Aviation Administration issued airspace closure notices for the area from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. CT Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Cameron County Judge also issued local road closures – another requirement for the launch – from noon to 8 pm on Tuesday and Wednesday.
How to watch Starship flight live
On Monday afternoon, SN15 was in an upright position on the Boca Chica launcher. During the test flight, SpaceX will broadcast live the flow from that place and from the cameras in the rocket’s skirt, where the engines are located.
The close-up cameras provided stunning images of past Starship flights, such as the image below of the SN9. (We’ll incorporate the SpaceX live stream below once it’s available.)
Meanwhile, a few rocket enthusiasts and fans of the company broadcast live from Boca Chica.
NASASpaceflight speakers will likely cover a critical test of the “static fire” engine that SpaceX must perform before launch, anchoring the SN15 to the launcher and starting its engines. It is unclear when this will happen, but the earliest opportunity is on Tuesday.
LabPadre, a YouTube channel from Louis Balderas, a Texas resident who lives just across the bay from Boca Chica, offers six unique views of the Starship launch site. Below is the main 4K resolution stream of the channel.
For a more in-depth look at the launch site – broadcast from the top of a South Padre Island resort, about 6 miles away – check out SPadre’s 24-hour live stream.