After two explosive failed attemptsthe Starship spacecraft of Spacex Returns attention with its ninth test flight that, if concretized, could be seen and even listened to Tuesday from Puerto Rico.
The expected launch is scheduled for 7:30 pm (Puerto Rico time), said the Caribbean Astronomy Society (SAC), in written statements.
“After confirming whether it took off, it could be visible between 11 and 13 minutes later looking northwest or about 315 degrees at the cell phone compass,” said Eddie Irizarry, vice president of the SAC.
The scientific disseminator shared that even the rough of the rocket could be perceived by the Puerto Ricans, as happened on the night of November 19, 2024 when the sixth test takeoff was observed from the island.
On this occasion, it is the ninth proof flight of the powerful rocket, whose goal is to reach the moon and Mars to establish permanent colonies, a vision considered viable by the billionaire Elon Musk, Founder of Spacex.
Follow the live launch coverage:
According to SAC, Starship would be passing at a height of 170 km (105.6 miles) over Puerto Rico, moving from northwest to this. The aircraft will take off from Boca Chica, Texas, will touch the north of Puerto Rico, and continue towards southern Africa, where it will try to descend over the waters of the Indian Ocean.
Two explosive failed attempts
Starship consists of a two -stage flight. In the first stage, Spacex recovers the main propellant rocket, known in English as “Super Heavy”, once culminates its main task of taking the Starship to space. In the second stage, Starship takes up his mission and is designed to return to the surface and land vertically, at least, in theory.
Beyond its impressive sighting, many observers are expectant from the new launch, before the explosion of the rocket over the Caribbean in the last two test flights executed on January 16 and March 6 of this year.
He January 16the company made a successful capture of the main rocket. However, he lost communication with the ship while he was in the space on the Atlantic.
A few hours later, people began publishing photos and videos on the social networks of flashes in the sky on the Caribbean when the pieces of the experimental ship re -entered the atmosphere of the earth after disintegrating.
Subsequently, on March 6, The 403 -foot long rocket took off from Texas shortly before sunset, and although the first stage of the rocket was recovered, the aircraft engines at the top began to go out While he was heading east, in what was supposed to be a controlled entrance to the Indian Ocean. The company indicated that it lost contact with the spacecraft while turning out of control.
FAA extends areas of possible risk
In the face of this new test launch, the SAC indicated that the Government of the Turkish Islands and Caicos, as well as that of the British Virgin Islands, have expressed concern about the possibility of falling from the rocket in case another explosion occurred.
Given this, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reported on May 22 that it extended the areas of possible risk and navigation restrictions to a large Caribbean area because “Spacex intends to reuse, for the first time, a super heavy propeller that has already been released.”
The federal entity also demanded from Spacex an insurance coverage of up to $ 500 million if fragments that cause damage to any area fall.
Similarly, FAA anticipated that closing the airspace between 40 minutes and 2 hours, could cause delays over 175 commercial flights, affecting about 70 air routes in the Bahamas regions and the Turkish and Caicos Islands.
Will air traffic be affected in Puerto Rico?
For his part, Damarisse Martínez, spokesman for Aerostar Airport Holdingsthe private operator of the Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport, indicated a The new day That at the moment it is not expected that the traffic in Puerto Rico will be affected for the launch.
“Not now. The situations we have faced in the past have been after takeoff when artifact materials have fallen into heaven. That has delayed flights, ”Martínez said.
He assured that the airfield will remain attentive in case an incident arises.
For its part, the SAC stressed that, in case this and the next tests are successful, these gigantic rockets will be seen more and more frequently, since recently Spacex received authorization to perform up to 25 Starship flights in one year.
This would imply a release every two weeks.
The Astronomy Society urged citizens to be attentive to take -off updates, because “Although everything is ready for the new attempt, rocket launches are very likely to be postponed.”