The most controversial Starship launch has been moved to this week

The pressure SpaceX put on the US government had an effect, and fifth spaceship launch This is a month and a half ahead of the date planned by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

The flight license has not yet been approved, but it appears imminent, so SpaceX has sent out a notice to sailors and is finalizing preparations for the new Starship’s launch on Sunday, October 13th. I’ve already decided on my agenda for the weekend because this episode promises strong emotions.

Unusual maneuver

Starship’s fourth voyage, in early June, was its most complete to date. The ship took off without any problems, separated from the propeller and landed in the planned area of ​​the Indian Ocean; quite charred, but still manageable.

He Super heavy fuelFor its part, it performed a return maneuver and simulated a soft landing in the Gulf of Mexico. It was a resounding success, which is why SpaceX has incredibly ambitious plans for its successor.

If there are no delays and the flight license is received on time, Starship Flight 5 will depart at 7:00 a.m. local time Sunday from Starbase, Texas. 14:00 in Spain. SpaceX will place Launch Vehicle 12 and Ship 30 on a launch pad that has a more sophisticated and resilient heat shield than Ship 29 from the previous flight.

The booster rocket, or super-heavy propellant, is the rocket stage that is responsible for takeoff and most of the ascent phase. It has 33 Raptor 2 engines and It’s 70 meters high. During the fifth test, SpaceX will try to implement its plans to quickly reuse Starship by returning Booster 12 to the location from which it took off.

The goal is for the missile to be maneuvered using its mobile engines and positioned next to a 140-meter-tall launch tower. The tower, which SpaceX calls Mechazilla, will attempt to grab the launch vehicle mid-flight using two huge mechanical arms to position it on the launch pad.

This is something SpaceX plans to do regularly in the future, so that Super Heavy will fly multiple times a day, launching Starships into orbit without wasting time either scaling the Starlink satellite constellation or colonizing Mars, as it aims to do. Elon Musk.

Thousands of conditions

SpaceX will make every effort to reduce the risk of a catastrophic impact or explosion of Super Heavy at its ground facilities, Mehazilla Tower or launch pad.

Once the booster separates from the craft, which continues on to another simulated landing in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, SpaceX will make a decision to approve or cancel the Booster 12 capture maneuver.

SpaceX engineers spent months modeling missile hijack attempt and testing on the ground, but thousands of criteria must be met to continue testing on the vehicle and platform.

This will be a semi-automatic process. If health checks show unacceptable conditions in any condition, the launch vehicle will repeat Flight Path 4, ending with a burnout and soft splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico.

If the rocket and turret are operational, the flight director will manually command launch vehicle 12 to return to the launch pad. Then we will see the attempted takeover for the first time.

Launches of Starship, the world’s tallest rocket, have already been exciting. The turret takeover attempt won’t stop biting its nails until Sunday. Flight 5 will be broadcast live on Channel X.

Image | SpaceX

In Hatak | Elon Musk wants to try an extreme maneuver on his next spaceship flight. The government must allow this first.