Now that it has started its test plan with real flights, SpaceX seems increasingly closer to having Starship ready to head to the Moon. This will be its proposal for a different future and it is still taking its first steps. On its testing path, Starship will fly again to bring more essential information.
Another test with Starship at the end of today
SpaceX is preparing to conduct its sixth flight test of the Starship rocket. This moment should happen this Tuesday, November 19th, at 10pm, in Lisbon. This will be another test to prove that this rocket is almost ready to fly to the Moon and Mars.
Those who followed the fifth flight test of the Starship spacecraft and the Super Heavy booster saw the latter being captured by arms of the Starbase launch tower. The rocket's upper stage also made a controlled entry and "landed very precisely in the target area in the Indian Ocean."
In the sixth flight test, SpaceX will try to grab the booster again with the launch pad's giant robotic arms. It will also attempt to reignite a Raptor engine while in space and test thermal protection experiments and maneuver changes for reentry and descent over the Indian Ocean.
Targeting Tuesday, November 19 for Starship’s sixth flight test. A 30-minute launch window opens at 4:00 p.m. CT → pic.twitter.com/s3Rk8TWfen
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) November 16, 2024
SpaceX's important changes to the Super Heavy on this flight
For this sixth flight, SpaceX introduced some hardware upgrades that add redundancy to booster propulsion systems and increase structural strength in key areas. You will also be able to discharge propellant fuel more quickly after a successful capture. SpaceX also revealed that its mission designers updated the software controls and engagement criteria for the launch and return of the Super Heavy.
For future flights, which take place after today, there will be significant updates. This will include redesigned front flaps, larger fuel tanks and state-of-the-art thermal protection and secondary thermal protection layers. Learnings from this and subsequent flight tests will continue to make the entire Starship system more reliable as they move closer to complete and rapid reuse.
For SpaceX, getting Starship ready soon is important because it's the cornerstone of the company's plans to reach Mars, and some of the technology will be used by NASA's Artemis missions to the Moon this decade. This flight will be broadcast on the website spacex.com and in your X account (@SpaceX).
Source: pplware.sapo.pt
