SpaceX is preparing for the third Starship test flight. The 122nd rocket will launch from the SpaceX Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, at about 14:00 Kyiv time on March 14. This will open a 110-minute launch window.
The live broadcast of the launch will be available on the X social network and on SpaceX website. The broadcast will start 30 minutes before the window.
You can also watch the test mission of SpaceX’s largest rocket, Integrated Flight Test 3 (IFT-3), on specialized YouTube channels, including Spaceflight Now.
The first two flights, conducted on April 20 and November 18 last year, did not complete as planned, as the missile exploded over the Gulf of Mexico each time. A recently completed FAA investigation following the second test determined that 17 corrective actionsthat SpaceX needs to fulfill in order to obtain the last launch license, which the Federal Aviation Administration issued late Wednesday night, transmits Gizmodo.
SpaceX has outlined several goals for the third test flight, including the successful launch and combustion of a Super Heavy rocket (equipped with 33 Raptor engines) and a Starship upper stage, opening and closing the Starship payload bay doors, the first-ever re-ignition of a Raptor in space, and a controlled re-entry of the Starship into the atmosphere. In addition, SpaceX plans to conduct a sophisticated fuel transfer demonstration, which it must perform under a contract with NASA in the future.
Previously, SpaceX aimed Starship at the Pacific Ocean, but this has changed for ITF-3: the upper stage is now aimed at the Indian Ocean. The entire mission, if successful, should last less than 10 minutes.