![]() In 2021, SpaceX filed an application with the Federal Communications Commission in which it described the planned first flight test of the Starship-Super Heavy booster stack. SpaceX continued to build new upper stages, completed several first stages, and performed ground tests while waiting for governmental launch clearances. Starting in 2019, SpaceX built several prototypes for the upper stage and launched them a total of nine times, culminating with the launch of Starship SN15 on that completed a successful high-altitude flight test of six minutes. Development įurther information: SpaceX Starship § History, and SpaceX Starship flight tests SpaceX plans to use the launch vehicle for launching satellites, space tourism, and interplanetary spaceflight. īoth of Starship's stages are designed to perform controlled landings at the launch site so they can be flown multiple times. On its first orbital test flight, Starship broke N1's half-century-old record for the most powerful rocket-stage ever launched. This is roughly twice that of NASA's Saturn V (7,750,000 lbf (34.5 MN) ) which flew between 19 more than NASA's SLS, which produced 8,800,000 lbf (39 MN) of thrust at liftoff in 2022 and well above the 10,000,000 lbf (44 MN) of thrust from the 30 engines that powered the Soviet Union's N1 rocket between 19. ![]() Its 33 first-stage Raptor engines nominally generate more than 16,000,000 lbf (71 MN) of thrust. Standing 121 m (397 ft) tall, it is projected to be able to carry 150 t (330,000 lb) of payload in a fully reusable configuration. Background Starship įurther information: SpaceX Starship § Designĭeveloped by SpaceX, Starship is a super heavy-lift launch vehicle, the largest and most powerful ever developed. Dust scattered by the launch initially caused some health concerns, but was later found by a laboratory to be ordinary beach sand, not posing a health hazard. The FAA announced in September 2023 that SpaceX had identified 63 "corrective actions" that it would need to take before another Starship launch would be allowed. The FAA said that a return to flight would depend on the agency's determination that future launches would not affect public safety. Īfter the test, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grounded the launch program pending results of a standard “mishap investigation” overseen by the agency and performed by SpaceX. The vehicle disintegrated 40 seconds later, nearly 4 minutes into the flight. Starship tumbled and the autonomous flight termination system (AFTS) was activated but did not destroy the vehicle immediately, as was intended. The vehicle passed max q and entered supersonic flight, but, due to a lack of thrust or thrust vector control, no attempt was made at stage separation. Three engines did not start or aborted before liftoff, and several others failed during the flight. Some debris spread into Boca Chica State Park. The liftoff damaged the launch pad and its surrounding infrastructure, which SpaceX said was unexpected. The rocket lifted off at 08:33 CDT (13:33 UTC) from SpaceX's private launch site, Boca Chica, Texas. The Super Heavy booster was to have performed a similar landing in the Gulf of Mexico, about 20 mi (30 km) off the Texas coast about 8 minutes after liftoff. It was planned for the Starship spacecraft to complete nearly one orbit around the Earth before reentering the atmosphere, performing a controlled landing and splashing down in the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii. The flight was generally regarded as having furthered Starship's development, and a variety of public officials congratulated SpaceX, including NASA administrator Bill Nelson and European Space Agency Director General Josef Aschbacher. Before the launch, SpaceX officials said they would measure the mission's success "by how much we can learn" and that various planned mission events "are not required for a successful test". The launch was part of SpaceX's Starship development program, which follows an iterative and incremental approach involving frequent-and often destructive- test flights of prototype vehicles. The vehicle became the most powerful rocket ever flown, breaking the half-century-old record held by the Soviet Union's N1 rocket. ![]() The prototype vehicle was destroyed less than four minutes after lifting off from the SpaceX Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas. On April 20, 2023, SpaceX launched the first Integrated Flight Test of its Starship rocket. Fully stacked Starship vehicle during its first flightĪpril 20, 2023, 13:33 UTC (08:33 a.m.
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