The largest and most powerful rocket in the world will be able to fly again next Sundayas long as the US Federal Administration (FAA) grants your authorization. Despite Starship is ready for its fifth test flight since last August, it was not expected to receive this authorization until the end of November. But the latest news is that SpaceX has already scheduled the flight for next day the 13th, so it will have to get it this week. The launch window will open at 14:00, Spanish timeshortly before dawn at Starbase, Texas.
‘Starship’s fifth test flight will attempt to take another step toward complete and rapid reuse’SpaceX explains in an update posted on its website. ‘The main objectives will be to try the first return to the launch site and capture of the Super Heavy boosteras well as another Starship reentry and landing burn, with the goal of a precise landing of Starship in the Indian Ocean‘.
Launch could be as soon as Sunday https://t.co/D4NjaDvgM2
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 8, 2024
The Starship rocket, adding the propellant —Super Heavy— and the space capsule —Starship—, reaches a height of 121 metersbeing the largest that has ever been built. Super Heavy, which is bigger than a 747 airplane, will land vertically on the Starbase launch pad. Once the booster’s 33 Raptor engines decelerate it until it hovers in the air, mechanical arms on the launch tower will catch the rocket.
Bureaucratic delays
Each Starship launch must be pre-cleared by the FAA. In recent months, the FAA has turned its attention to the effects of the rocket’s sonic boom upon returning to Earth. The FAA and other agencies are also studying how a disposable section of the booster, called the ‘hot-staging’ ring – the phase in which Super Heavy separates from Starship – could affect the environment when it falls into the sea near Starbase, located on the Gulf Coast.
During Starship’s fourth and final test flight last June, Super Heavy booster completed controlled descent to a predetermined location in the Gulf of Mexico, prompting SpaceX to attempt a landing at the launch site on the fifth. Starship is designed to be a completely reusable rocket, both the first and second stages.
The company and its CEO, Elon Muskhave complained on several occasions about the bureaucratic obstacles that have prevented them from launching at a higher rate. Initially, the FAA told SpaceX that it could have authorization in September, and then moved the date to the end of November. However, the fact that SpaceX has scheduled the flight for this Sunday indicates that is very close.
‘Unfortunately, instead of focusing on critical safety analysis and collaborating on rational safeguards to protect both the public and the environment, the licensing process has been repeatedly derailed by issues ranging from the frivolous to the patently absurd.’SpaceX said in a statement last month.
For its part, Michael WhittakerFAA administrator, has noted that ‘the two-month delay required to meet release requirements and I consider that to be an important part of the safety culture.’
The FAA is responsible for ensuring that commercial space launches do not endanger the public and comply with the national security and foreign policy interests of the US government. Earlier this year, SpaceX was fined by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and the Environmental Protection Agency for violations of environmental regulations related to the launch pad’s water system. This cools the steel deflector located under the 33 main engines of Starship’s Super Heavy booster and prevents damage to the launch site on takeoff, as happened with Starship’s first test flight in April 2023.