SpaceX finally gets permission to fly: ‘Second Starship test flight will take place on Friday’ | Science and the planet

The next test launch of Starship will take place on November 17, SpaceX announced on the social media platform “X”, formerly known as Twitter. After a long wait, the aerospace company finally received approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and other agencies. The FAA determined that SpaceX has effectively met all safety, environmental, policy and financial responsibility requirements. So Musk can try again with the spacecraft on Friday. The test flight will take place at 2 pm Belgian time. Two hours are allowed for release.

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The launch will take place again at SpaceX’s Starbase test site on Boca Chica Beach near Brownsville, Texas. It is the company’s second test flight of Starship and its Super Heavy Booster, the largest and most powerful rocket ever built. SpaceX launched the first Starship test flight in April, but it exploded shortly after launch. After this failed attempt, SpaceX made many changes. So they introduced a new “Hot Phase Separation System” and “Electronic Thrust Force Control (TVC) System” for the Super Heavy Raptor engines. In addition, the launch pad has also been reinforced and equipped with a water cooling system.

The second flight will follow the same path as the first test, launching the spacecraft to a target site off the coast of Hawaii to test return and landing techniques, while the super-heavy rocket lands in the Gulf of Mexico.

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The Starship and Super Heavy launch system is the longest and most powerful rocket in the world. It is approximately 121 meters high and is designed to be completely reusable. SpaceX wants to use Starship as a backbone for heavy launches, as well as for space missions. The company even sold flights around the moon to space tourists. NASA also plans to use the Starship rocket to land Artemis 3 astronauts on the moon.

But first the spacecraft and its booster must prove they are ready for orbital flight.

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