As it tried a third test of its Starship rocket, SpaceX believed that this time would be lucky. The Starship launched successfully at 9:25 AM ET on the third attempt, and everything went according to plan. It successfully finished the hot-staging separation from the Super Heavy Booster shortly after launch, and the Starship activated the second-stage Raptor engines. The Raptor engines will be restarted around 40 minutes after the initial takeoff while it is coasting at the moment. While this was going on, the Super Heavy Booster descended in a semi-controlled manner; its engines failed to fully relight as intended before splashdown. When all is said and done, we ought to know more about what went well and poorly during that testing phase.
Although SpaceX said that the booster and the Starship would return to Earth at “terminal velocity,” making any recovery of them unfeasible, it appears that the Starship itself did not survive splashdown. It appears that Starship split up during re-entry based on the preliminary data. Similar to the booster, we ought to learn additional details regarding the ship’s eventual fate soon.
Before breakup, though, we got to see some dramatic footage of Starship beginning reentry:
Starship re-entering Earth's atmosphere. Views through the plasma pic.twitter.com/HEQX4eEHWH
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) March 14, 2024
The previous two efforts ended in failure, though Starship did reach space on the second go-round. A 110-minute launch window for the latest attempt opens at 8AM ET. A livestream covering the launch kicked off at about 8:50AM ET, and you can follow it here on X.
Watch Starship’s third flight test → https://t.co/bJFjLCiTbK https://t.co/1u46r769Vp
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) March 14, 2024
The Federal Aviation Authority authorized the SpaceX Starship Super Heavy Orbital Flight Test 3 on Wednesday afternoon. The agency said in a statement to Engadget that Space X “met all safety, environmental, policy and financial responsibility requirements.”
The FAA grounded Starship for several weeks before the second test flight until the company took 63 “corrective actions.” The first launch caused a fire in a state park and led to a lawsuit from environmental groups.
Along with building on top of the previous tests, there are a number of “ambitious” goals SpaceX had in mind for this launch. The company aimed to carry out the first re-light of a Raptor engine in space, along with ensuring the successful ascent burn of both stages, opening and closing the payload door and conducting a controlled reentry. The spacecraft flew on a new trajectory and splashed down in the Indian Ocean. SpaceX said the updated flight path afforded it the chance to try out new things like engine burns in space while prioritizing public safety.
