SpaceX Starship Test Flight Pushed to Saturday
SpaceX Starship Test Flight Pushed to Saturday
Launch Window Opens at 7:00 am Central Time
SpaceX rescheduled its second Starship test flight to Saturday, with a 20 minute launch window opening at 7:00 am central standard time. The flight was delayed to allow engineers to replace a grid fin actuator on the spacecraft prior to the launch.
If all goes according to plan, Starship will lift off at T+ :02. The superheavy booster should separate and splash down in the Gulf of Mexico approximately 3 minutes into the flight, and Starship will land in the Pacific Ocean approximately 90 minutes after launch.
According to SpaceX, Starship’s first flight test provided numerous lessons learned that directly contributed to several upgrades to both the vehicle and ground infrastructure to improve the probability of success on future flights. The second flight test will debut a hot-stage separation system and a new electronic Thrust Vector Control (TVC) system for Super Heavy Raptor engines, in addition to reinforcements to the pad foundation and a water-cooled steel flame deflector, among many other enhancements.
This rapid iterative development approach has been the basis for all of SpaceX’s major innovative advancements, including Falcon, Dragon, and Starlink. Recursive improvement is essential as we work to build a fully reusable transportation system capable of carrying both crew and cargo to Earth orbit, help humanity return to the Moon, and ultimately travel to Mars and beyond.
A live webcast of the flight test will begin about 35 minutes before liftoff.