Final preparations are underway before the second attempt to launch the world’s largest rocket. Will Starship be able to overcome the challenges and fly into Earth’s orbit? Watch the start of Starship and Super Heavy live here.
On the afternoon of Thursday, April 20, the second launch tests of the SpaceX Starship launch vehicle and the Super Heavy launch vehicle take place. The first approach took place on Monday, but, unfortunately, it was interrupted before the last countdown. Will it work this time?
Watch the second Starship launch as Elon Musk’s rocket enters orbit
SpaceX is streaming its launch on YouTube as always, and this time the broadcast was scheduled to start at 2:45 pm. Meanwhile, the launch window, approved by the Federal Aviation Agency, starts at 15:28 Polish time and ends around 16:30.
This could be a big day for Elon Musk. If all goes according to plan, the first orbital test of a Starship rocket powered by a Superheavy launch vehicle is at stake.
The entire mission is expected to take only about 90 minutes. The system is scheduled to launch from the SpaceX base in Boca Chica, Texas. Less than three minutes after launch, the Super Heavy booster will separate and crash into the ocean in the Gulf of Mexico.
Starship will continue its flight until reaching its orbital ceiling - it is planned to reach an altitude of 150 miles, or just over 241 km above the Earth’s surface. The SpaceX rocket will then begin its descent, which is expected to end in the Pacific Ocean, near Hawaii.
Starship launch failure on April 17
On April 17, SpaceX conducted the first orbital test of its latest prototype ship. However, the test was halted minutes before the scheduled launch. The cause was one of the fuel valves, which froze during refueling.
The head of SpaceX previously calculated that the first test “probably will not be successful, if by success we mean getting into orbit.” He also noted that if the engineers find errors, they can cancel the entire test. And so it happened.
The worst possible scenario, which SpaceX wants to categorically avoid, is a starship explosion on the launch pad at Boca Chica. The equipment and machines used at the start are extremely expensive.
Source: Wprost
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