Starship cleared for launch tomorrow, here’s what to expect

The Starship megarocket has officially received the green light for its fourth test flightThe Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has just issued a launch license to SpaceX for its mission scheduled for this Thursday, June 6 from the company’s Starbase facility near Boca Chica, Texas.

Starship launch scheduled for early afternoon

NASA has selected Starship as the lander to place the next American astronauts on the Moon in 2026, as part of the program Artemis. To do this, however, SpaceX still needs to prove that its rocket can successfully reach Earth orbit. SpaceX has conducted three test flights so far with mixed results. On the first flight, the rocket’s two stages failed to separate, causing the vehicle to explode after just four minutes. On the second flight, the stages separated successfully and the flight time doubled. Finally, the third flight saw Starship reach orbital speed with a flight lasting nearly 50 minutes, although the vehicle and its Super Heavy booster were lost before reaching their splashdown targets. The fourth launch of the 122-meter-tall rocket is scheduled for Thursday morning, with a launch window opening from 7:00 a.m. local time (2:00 p.m. Paris time). SpaceX will broadcast the event live on X, starting 30 minutes before liftoff.

Credits: Elon Musk on X

FAA more lenient

Each of these tests was followed by an FAA investigation into the causes of the failure and recommendations for future flights. For this fourth Starship test flight, SpaceX and the FAA took a different approach to risk management and failure investigations. SpaceX identified three scenarios possible scenarios involving the spacecraft entering the Earth’s atmosphere where a loss of the vehicle would be possible. These scenarios have been carefully considered by the FAA as part of their flight safety and risk analyses. If any of these situations occur during flight, SpaceX and the FAA have agreed that a no further investigation would be necessary. This pre-approval will expedite the launch process by avoiding lengthy investigations after a potential failure. It demonstrates the FAA’s confidence in SpaceX’s risk assessment and safety measures for this test flight. By taking this approach, SpaceX also aims to reduce the time between test flights and accelerate Starship’s development while ensuring the safety of space operations. Key features of this flight will include Starship flying to orbital velocity, followed by a controlled return and splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico. The Super Heavy booster will return to South Texas for a controlled landing in the Gulf of Mexico.