The countdown is on again. After the eventful test flight last April, Elon Musk tries again. His company SpaceX has announced that this Friday at 7 in the morning of the central time of the United States (8 in the morning on the East coast and 2 p.m. in mainland Spain) a new window opens for the second comprehensive flight test of its gigantic 120-meter device. meters high and nine meters in diameter, the ship Starship coupled to the propeller Super Heavy, the most powerful rocket in history.
The company’s announcement came moments after the United States aeronautical authority (FAA) said it was reactivating SpaceX’s authorization. “The FAA has given the authorization license for the second launch of the vehicle of the Starship Super Heavy from SpaceX. “The FAA has determined that SpaceX met all safety, environmental, regulatory and financial responsibility requirements,” the organization has tweeted.
In a 45-page report, The FAA reviews some of the incidents that accompanied the first test launch and the improvements that SpaceX has introduced since then to prevent them from being repeated. On April 20, the aircraft passed over the platform and the beach and ended up disintegrating when it exploded over the Gulf of Mexico. The concrete launch pad was damaged during the test launch, resulting in the dispersal of sand and debris, some of which was deposited outside the potential debris study area evaluated in the permit. The breach of the launch pad deck also expelled sand from beneath the launch pad by the thrust of the ship.
All in all, SpaceX considered the launch a success because the rocket moved far enough from the takeoff platform without causing damage and the failure occurred at a more advanced stage, during the undocking of the two parts of the device. “Starship’s first test flight provided numerous lessons learned that directly contributed to several improvements to both the vehicle and ground infrastructure to increase the likelihood of success on future flights,” SpaceX assures. Even so, the destruction in the launch area put the authorities on guard, who left the now reactivated license on hold.
After the April 20 launch, the FAA explains, SpaceX reinforced the foundation of the launch pad with thicker concrete and additional piles and also installed steel plates on the foundation. Both improvements are designed to protect the platform from possible breakage or a large cloud of dust. The steel plates include a water cooling element that would activate to protect the steel plates during an engine ignition event and allow reuse of the plates.
SpaceX has also added a front heat shield to the vehicle Starship/Super Heavy to provide thermal protection against heat produced by the motors of the Starship during the separation event of the different stages. The second test will also debut a new electronic thrust vector control system.
“This rapid and iterative development approach has been the basis for all of SpaceX’s major innovative advances, including Falcon, Dragon and Starlink,” says SpaceX, which considers this system “essential” in its work “to build a system of “fully reusable transport capable of transporting crew and cargo to Earth orbit, helping humanity return to the Moon and, ultimately, traveling to Mars and beyond,” according to the statement announcing the launch.
This Friday’s launch window lasts two hours. About 30 minutes before takeoff, SpaceX will begin a live Internet broadcast of the flight test, both on its website and on the social network X, also owned by Musk.
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