SpaceX considered its first high-altitude launch test a success despite the explosive landing, but the FAA was reportedly not amused. It said SpaceX violated the terms of its launch license, prompting an investigation and postponing the next test, which was originally scheduled for January 28. However, it looks like the two sides have got things right as SpaceX announced that it will attempt its second high-altitude starship test as early as today, Feb. 2.
The spaceship’s serial number 9 (SN9) will attempt to ascend to a height of 10 km (32,000 feet) before switching to its head-landing propellant tanks. It will then reorient for reentry and start a controlled aerodynamic descent, moving the two front and two rear flaps with the onboard computer. Closer to the ground, the SN9’s bird of prey engines will reignite as SN9 tries another landing flash before (hopefully) hitting the landing pad next to the launch pad.
There is a live feed of the flight test available here starting minutes before launch. Given the dynamic schedule of development testing, stay tuned to our social media channels for updates as we head into SpaceX’s second high-altitude flight test of Starship!
This is a lot like what SN8 did successfully, except for the “touch” part. Those maneuvers, “combined with space replenishment, are critical to landing Starship at solar system destinations where prepared surfaces or runways do not exist, and to return to Earth,” SpaceX wrote.
It’s not clear what SpaceX did wrong that violated its license. At the time, the FAA said it “will not jeopardize its responsibility to protect public safety,” adding that “we will not approve the change until after we are satisfied that SpaceX has taken the necessary steps to comply with regulatory requirements. requirements. “
SpaceX chief Elon Musk said on Twitter that the “FAA space division has a fundamentally broken regulatory structure” and that “under [their] rules, humanity will never go to Mars. In fact, the FAA recently streamlined its rules for launching commercial spaces, but the new rules won’t go into effect until early March. In the meantime, Musk recently tweeted that he would be “not on Twitter for a while.”
In any case, the next test can already take place today. SpaceX said it would make a live feed of the test flight available on its website “a few minutes before launch,” advising that you “stay tuned for its social media channels for updates. “