SpaceX, the company founded by Elon Musk, carried out the launch of the colossal Starship spacecraft, marking its third flight test. This launch was carried out with the Starship model, which measures an impressive 120 meters high and reaches a weight of 5,000 tons once fully fueled.
On March 14, this giant lifted off from SpaceX’s base in Texas, demonstrating the capabilities of the launch system composed of the Starship vehicle and the powerful Super Heavy booster rocket, the latter equipped with SpaceX’s 33 Raptor engines.
Starship testing yields positive results
Although they did not survive re-entry, the flight marked the achievement of several important milestones for Integrated Flight Test-3 (IFT-3), most notably the first orbital flight of the Starship spacecraft. A SpaceX press release emphasized the importance of these tests, stating that far from being carried out in controlled laboratory conditions, they are performed in real flight environments in order to maximize the learning obtained.
In past events, two flight tests and attempts conducted last year, did not culminate as expected, with both tests ending in component explosions before completing the proposed mission. Nevertheless, IFT-3 managed to extend for approximately 49 minutes, although it did not reach the planned duration of 65 minutes.
During liftoff, all of the Super Heavy’s Raptor engines were successfully activated, allowing the Starship to break off and reach an altitude of 145 miles above the Earth, with all six engines operating smoothly. In this phase, various tests were conducted, including opening and closing maneuvers of the cargo hatch and the initiation of a propellant transfer demonstration, with the objective of demonstrating critical capabilities for the qualification of the vehicle.
The reactivation of the engines, planned for this phase, was not carried out due to excessive rocking of the vehicles. Meanwhile, the Super Heavy performed a turn-and-ignition maneuver to head toward a designated splashdown point in the Gulf of Mexico.
The future lunar mission
SpaceX highlighted the importance of the first spacecraft entry from space, as it provides crucial data on control and heat resistance during hypersonic re-entry. Following the flight, SpaceX’s engineering team is analyzing the data collected and preparing the vehicles for future launches, with four sets of vehicles already built.
With a view to future collaboration, NASA plans to use Starship for the Artemis 3 mission to take humans back to the Moon, an event that has not occurred since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972. With Artemis-3 scheduled for launch in 2026, SpaceX faces the challenge of conducting a series of test flights to meet NASA qualification requirements within the next two years.
Pruebas exitosas de la nave Starship. Fuente: SpaceX
The company’s goal is to solidify the design of its space models, both Starship and Super Heavy, to be fully reusable. Subsequently, with plans for the Super Heavy to be captured by two arms on its return to the launch tower.
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Source and photos: SpaceX
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