SpaceX plans to conduct the 14th test flight of its Starship rocket on September 22, aiming to place the upper stage into Earth’s orbit for the first time, the company said on Tuesday.. The launch window is scheduled to open at 7:15 a.m. CT and last 75 minutes.
SpaceX said the mission will also deploy 26 third-generation V3 Starlink satellites into orbit.. If successful, the flight would be the first Starship launch to generate revenue for SpaceX’s launch business, although that revenue would come from another division of the company..
The mission will be the second Starship test since SpaceX’s June initial public offering. The first post-IPO test came in July, when SpaceX deployed V3 Starlink satellites for the first time, but those satellites were intended only to test deployment capability and burned up in the atmosphere after about 20 minutes..
Reaching orbit would mark a major step for the Starship program, which has absorbed billions of dollars in investment. SpaceX has said it intends to retire the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy in favor of Starship once the vehicle can fly reliably several times a week.. Elon Musk has said that shift would help conserve “scarce SpaceX engineering and production resources.”.
This flight will test only part of that plan. Musk recently said SpaceX will not attempt to catch the Starship upper stage with the launch tower on this mission after previously suggesting it might, saying an explosion would be too large a setback.. SpaceX also will not attempt to catch the Super Heavy booster.
The company said it made “several modifications” to the booster’s hardware and software after the booster struggled to relight its engines following stage separation on Flight 13 in July.. SpaceX had more success with the upper stage on Flight 13. It did not reach orbit, but it completed a smooth flight through a simulated landing in the Indian Ocean and did not explode after tipping over in the water..
That allowed SpaceX to recover the upper stage and tow it back to its Texas headquarters over the following months. The company said it has since made additional changes to Starship’s heat shield based on what it learned from examining the recovered vehicle.. Featured image credit.
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