As of: March 14, 2024, 12:08 p.m
By: Tanja Banner
Comments
Press
Split
SpaceX is about to conduct its third test flight of the giant Starship rocket.
After two explosions, expectations are high.
The developments in the live ticker.
The first two test flights of SpaceX's Starship ended in explosions.
Elon Musk's SpaceX has ambitious plans for the third test flight.
This ticker about the developments of the “Starship” is continually updated.
Update from March 14th, 12:07 p.m.:
According to SpaceX, the probability that the weather will allow today's “Starship” launch is 70 percent.
The launch is currently scheduled for 1:30 p.m., as the company announced on X (formerly Twitter).
Update from March 14th, 12:00 p.m.:
The window for the third test flight of SpaceX's giant rocket “Starship” will open in an hour.
If the company actually launches at the beginning of the launch window at 1 p.m., then refueling of the upper rocket stage with liquid oxygen should begin in a few minutes and refueling with liquid methane a few minutes later.
SpaceX's giant rocket "Starship" is making its third test flight today
First report from March 14, 2024, 11 a.m.:
Boca Chica - The preparations have been completed and the excitement is rising: SpaceX is planning the third test flight of the world's largest rocket model, the “Starship”.
The 110-minute window for testing the gigantic rocket opens today, Thursday (March 14), at 1 p.m. (CET).
SpaceX's live stream is scheduled to begin about half an hour before the scheduled launch.
The first two flight tests of the 121-meter-high rocket model in April and November 2023 ended in explosions.
Therefore, SpaceX has high hopes for today's test flight.
“The third flight test is designed to build on what we have learned from previous flights while pursuing a number of ambitious goals,” the company founded by Elon Musk said on its website.
SpaceX wants to test many things on the third test flight of the “Starship”.
According to SpaceX, the “ambitious goals” for the third test flight include several aspects:
My news
New theory calls dark matter into question – “Gravity has a long history of trickery” read
Icelandic volcanic system has erupted again – is this normal?read
The date for the next “Starship” test flight has been set – NASA will be watching closely
Here's how to find Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks in the sky reading this evening
Guessing the Hubble voltage – read “Maybe we misunderstood the universe”.
Breakthrough in neuroscience: reading brain tissue from 3D printing
Successful ascent of both rocket stages
Opening and closing the Starship payload door (from approximately 12 minutes to approximately 28 minutes after launch)
First relight of a Raptor engine in space (approximately 40 minutes after launch)
Controlled re-entry of the “Starship” (approximately 49 minutes after launch)
In-flight fuel transfer (approximately 24 minutes after takeoff)
The last point is particularly interesting – fuel transfer in flight.
This aspect has also caught the attention of the US space organization NASA, as the fuel transfer is crucial for the planned next US moon landing.
This is to be carried out with a “Starship”, which must first carry out several fuel transfers in space.
Since this concept has not yet been tested in practice, experts will closely monitor the test flight.
SpaceX's giant rocket "Starship" is waiting for its third test flight.
© IMAGO/JOE MARINO
SpaceX emphasizes before the launch of the giant rocket: “Just a test”
Despite the high expectations for the third test flight of the “Starship”, SpaceX is aware that an explosion is also possible.
After all, it is a test.
The company also emphasizes this in its rocket launch announcement: “Each of these flight tests continues to be just that: a test.
“They do not take place in a laboratory or on a test bed, but rather use the aircraft in a flight environment to maximize learning,” the company said.
Starship test flight schedule |
|
|---|---|
hr/min/sec after the start |
Event |
00:00:02\t |
Launch of the Starship |
00:00:52\t |
Max Q (aerodynamic load on the rocket reaches its maximum) |
00:02:42\t |
Booster MECO (the majority of first stage rocket engines shut down) |
00:02:44\t |
Hot staging (the engines of the second rocket stage ignite, the first stage separates) |
00:02:55\t |
First rocket stage fires engines in preparation for landing |
00:03:50\t |
First rocket stage (booster) switches off engines |
00:06:46\t |
Booster ignites engines for landing |
00:07:04\t |
Booster switches off the engines and lands in the sea |
00:08:35\t |
Second rocket stage (Starship) switches off the engines |
00:11:56\t |
Payload door opens |
00:24:31\t |
Demo: Fuel transfer in flight |
00:28:21\t |
Payload door is closed |
00:40:46\t |
Demo: Re-igniting a Raptor engine in space |
00:49:05\t |
Starship enters Earth's atmosphere |
01:03:04\t |
Starship is slower than the speed of sound |
01:04:39\t |
Starship lands in the sea |
Source: SpaceX |
SpaceX has chosen a new flight route for the third launch of the giant rocket.
Originally, the “Starship” was supposed to fly almost once around the earth and then crash into the Pacific near Hawaii.
The new route now takes the “Starship” into the Indian Ocean – assuming everything goes according to plan.
With the new route, SpaceX wants to test new technologies while at the same time “maximizing public safety,” as the company explains.
(tab)
The editor wrote this article and then used an AI language model for optimization at her own discretion. All information has been carefully checked. Find out more about our AI principles here.