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SpaceX is scheduled to conduct the third orbital test of its Starship rocket on Thursday (March 14), and you can watch the event for free online.
This massive rocket is more than 400 feet (122 meters) tall and consists of two parts. The first is a reusable stainless steel upper stage also known as a “Starship,” and the second is a very heavy booster for the first stage. Starship is currently the largest and most powerful rocket ever built. Its ultimate goal is to assist astronauts on the journey to the Moon, and eventually to Mars, as they embark on more sustainable space missions and perhaps begin establishing settlements on alien worlds.
SpaceX announced the launch on its website X feedSaying that Starship's third flight stream will begin on Thursday at 7:30 a.m. EDT (1130 GMT). The company also said the broadcast will begin 30 minutes before launch, suggesting an initial liftoff time of around 8 a.m. EST (1200 GMT). The live broadcast of the rocket test will also be available to watch on Space.com's YouTube channel only here.
Related: SpaceX is eyeing March 14 for a third test flight of the spacecraft
“The third flight test is intended to build on what we have learned from previous flights while attempting a number of ambitious objectives, including a successful ascent burn in both stages, opening and closing the spacecraft's payload door, and demonstrating a fuel transfer through the upper stage coast.” The first stage “This is the first in-space relight of a Raptor engine and a controlled re-entry of a Starship.” Spacecraft mission location. “It will also fly on a new trajectory, with the spacecraft targeting a landing in the Indian Ocean. This new flight path enables us to try new technologies like engine burn in space while maximizing public safety.”
These goals make this third flight of the spacecraft more ambitious than the rocket's previous two flights.
Starship flew on its maiden mission from SpaceX's Starbase site in south Texas in April 2023. That launch ended after the rocket's two stages failed to separate, and it intentionally exploded just four minutes after liftoff.
Starship's second flight in November 2023 was slightly more successful, with the spacecraft achieving a nominal first-stage engine burn and separation of its two stages on schedule. But about eight minutes after launch, the rocket exploded while venting liquid oxygen. Elon Musk, founder and CEO of SpaceX, said this explosion would not have happened if the spacecraft had been carrying payload on the second flight, because in that scenario, it would not have been transporting liquid oxygen.
Before Starship's third test flight, SpaceX conducted a critical refueling test at its Starship facility near Boca Chica, Texas. During testing, more than 10 million pounds of liquid methane and liquid oxygen were poured into the rocket.
“Starship Flight 3 is preparing for launch,” SpaceX CEO Elon Musk wrote in a message. Share on XWith accompanying photos of the fueling test.
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