SpaceX is preparing to launch the latest prototype of its Starship spaceship thousands of feet into the sky and then gently land it back on the ground.
If the company can perform this tricky maneuver – turning the rocket’s engines back on as it plunges to Earth, just in time to set it up, slow its fall, and steadily land it on a landing pad – it will be the first time are that a The spaceship has ventured so high and has returned in one piece.
Elon Musk, who founded SpaceX in 2002, wants the latest Starship-Super Heavy launch system to be fully and quickly reusable.
If Musk’s plan succeeds, Starship could cut the cost of reaching space 1,000-fold, enable hypersonic travel around the world on Earth, and fly astronauts to the moon.
Musk has said that his ultimate plan is to build 1,000 starships that will carry enough people and cargo to Mars to build an independent, self-sustaining city there.
SpaceX launched a prototype of this kind of Starship for the first time on December 8. Called Starship serial number 8 or SN8, it roared tens of thousands of feet above the company’s growing facilities in Boca Chica, Texas.
SN8 then tilted its nose cone forward, cut its engines and began to descend. As the vehicle approached the ground in a belly-flop-like freefall, it restarted its engines to flip upright and slow its descent.
However, low pressure in a propellant tank caused the spaceship to fall too fast, hit the landing pad and explode catastrophically.
SpaceX still considered the seven-minute test flight a success, however, because it was inherently an experiment – and one that flew higher than ever before and performed unprecedented maneuvers.
For example, the SN8’s flight achieved successive rocket engine shutdowns, air flips, and a belly flop made stable via wing flaps. (Previous test flights had been ‘hopping’, with prototypes launched a few hundred meters into the air and then landed below.)
Now SpaceX is ready for another big test flight, and this time it could hold the landing.
Like its predecessor, the new prototype, called SN9, is 16 stories high and is powered by three Raptor engines. SN9 tipped over in a vertical building December 11, but SpaceX appeared to be doing quick fixes and rolling it out to a beachside launch pad.
In preparation for launch, SpaceX clamped down the SN9 and tested its engines three times on Wednesday – a record static fire rate for the Starship program.
The company seemed ready to launch this week, but two of the engines needed repair, Musk tweeted on Thursday. Musk added that he hopes SpaceX can speed up the engine switching process so that it takes “a few hours at the most.”
SpaceX appears to be targeting a Monday launch. The Federal Aviation Administration made an announcement for that day from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. CST that airspace was closing to a missile launch from Boca Chica. The FAA has made similar announcements for Tuesday and Wednesday – backup data in case weather or disruptions cause SpaceX to delay the test flight.
Launch requires both airspace closures and local road closures. The Cameron County judge has issued road closures in Boca Chica for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. CST.
How to watch SN9 launch attempt live
SpaceX can broadcast the launch attempt live on YouTube. Several online broadcasters, such as NASASpaceFlight.com and LabPadre, are also planning to stream live video of the flight. We will embed these live feeds below as soon as they become available.
A series of events usually precedes the launch of a Starship prototype.
A few hours in advance, SpaceX will clear the launch site for personnel. About an hour before the flight, storage tanks at the launch site will begin to vent gases while SpaceX prepares to fuel Starship with cryogenic fuels. Later refueling causes Starship to release gases from the top, indicating that launch could take place in minutes.
Bad weather, a technical failure, or a boat entering the launch danger zone – a new challenge for Starship – can cause delays.
This article was originally published by Business Insider.
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