ANALYSIS – SpaceX, owned by Elon Musk, is poised to make a second test flight of the world's biggest rocket, having made several design changes after the Starship's debut flight had to be aborted soon after launch.
The ‘megarocket,' that stands almost 400 feet tall, and looks like something out of a 1950s science fiction TV show, is the most powerful rocket ever built.
It may fly again as soon as Friday, November 17, provided it receives the final regulatory approvals.
Starship and the new super heavy booster are also the biggest, most important pieces of Musk's grand plan for SpaceX, his private spaceflight company. Musk's ultimate goal is colonizing Mars.
As Space.com reported:
Musk has repeatedly stressed that he founded SpaceX back in 2002 primarily to help humanity colonize Mars. It's vital that we become a multiplanet species, the billionaire entrepreneur has said, citing both a much-reduced probability of extinction and the thrill that meaningful space exploration will deliver to billions of people around the world.
In the interim, for NASA's Artemis Moon program, Starship promises a revolutionary leap, as the rocket will allow for more flexible and cost-effective missions to space.
The potential launch Friday from Boca Chica Beach, Texas, will mark the company's second test flight of an orbital class Starship and super heavy booster. SpaceX launched its first Starship test flight on April 20, but it exploded shortly after liftoff.
The first flight was marred by several problems, including the failure of at least five of the 33 Raptor engines in the first stage, but the final nail was the failure of the second stage to separate.
The company said on the livestream that the super heavy booster failed to separate from the Starship rocket, causing a “rapid unscheduled unassembly.” In other words, it blew up.
SpaceX has made a variety of design changes in the wake of that debut, aiming to increase the chances of success on future Starship flights. In other words, of having the huge rocket, not blow up.
Key questions (ifs) include whether the 16 million pounds of thrust produced by the Raptor engines will damage the launch mount despite a new water deluge system; if all 33 Raptor engines will ignite successfully; whether SpaceX will achieve hot staging on its first attempt; and if Starship can survive reentry.
All are pretty big ‘ifs.' Let's hope and pray all goes well for Starship and the super heavy booster when it does launch again.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
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