SpaceX is preparing to launch its third Starship rocket this week, with the first attempt scheduled for no earlier than Thursday (Mar. 14), pending approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
The Elon Musk-owned company said that it would livestream the launch attempt on its website and on X, the social media formerly known as Twitter, which is another Musk-owned company.
The inaugural flight in April 2023 witnessed the first prototypes of the Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy booster fly off the launch pad but failed to separate.
The following November, a second flight test achieved stage separation. The Starship model during the second test went past the Karman Line, but did not reach the target altitude of 150 km.
"Starship's second flight test achieved a number of major milestones and provided invaluable data to continue rapidly developing Starship," SpaceX said in its statement. "Each of these flight tests continue to be just that: a test. They aren't occurring in a lab or on a test stand, but are putting flight hardware in a flight environment to maximize learning."
If all goes well in the third flight test, the Super Heavy booster would attempt to make a landing in the Gulf of Mexico and the Starship spacecraft would have entered space and open its payload doors to test the spacecraft's ability to deliver satellites and other payloads to space, specifically its Starlink internet connection satellite constellation.
Other objectives include a propellant transfer demonstration and the first ever re-light of a Raptor engine in space. This would be followed by a controlled reentry of the Starship, which would target a splashdown in the Indian Ocean about an hour after launch, Universe Today reported.
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