Tag: spacex starship

SpaceX gets the go-ahead for the 2nd launch of its Starship rocket; Liftoff set for November 17
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SpaceX gets the go-ahead for the 2nd launch of its Starship rocket; Liftoff set for November 17

[ad_1] SpaceX's ambitious project Starship may not have fared well in its first test flight, but there is reason for hope, as the rocket has received clearance from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The directive was given yesterday, November 15, and Elon Musk's SpaceX will now conduct its 2nd test launch to see whether the issues from the first test flight have been resolved or not. According to the company, it has scheduled the launch tomorrow, November 17, in a small two-hour window.For the unaware, the Starship rocket, alongside the Super Heavy vehicle is SpaceX's next-generation space transportation system that has a long-term vision of carrying humans to Mars. These are, however, early days and the company is trying to figure out how to carry out an efficient launch se...
Environmental groups sue FAA over SpaceX Texas rocket launch
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Environmental groups sue FAA over SpaceX Texas rocket launch

[ad_1] Wildlife and environmental groups sued the Federal Aviation Administration on Monday over SpaceX's launch last month of its giant rocket from Texas. SpaceX's Starship soared 24 miles (39 kilometers) high before exploding over the Gulf of Mexico on April 20. The rocket's self-destruct system caused the nearly 400-foot (120-meter) rocket to blow up, as it spun out of control just minutes into the test flight. An attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity, one of the plaintiffs, said the groups are suing over what they consider to be the FAA's failure to fully consider the environmental impacts of the Starship program near Boca Chica Beach in South Texas. They asked the court to throw out the five-year license the FAA granted to SpaceX. The FAA declined comment, noting it do...
Giant SpaceX rocket leaves crater, serious damage at Texas base
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Giant SpaceX rocket leaves crater, serious damage at Texas base

[ad_1] Flying chunks of concrete, twisted metal sheets, craters blasted deep into the ground: the thunderous power of SpaceX's first test flight of Starship -- the biggest and most powerful rocket ever built -- inflicted serious damage on its Texas launch site. Repairing the damage from Thursday's unmanned test flight is expected to take months, potentially delaying further launch attempts and slowing the development of a rocket NASA plans to use on its upcoming Moon missions. SpaceX boss Elon Musk had said before the test that just getting Starship in the air without destroying its launch pad would be "a win." Luckily for Musk, the 390-foot-tall (120-meter) rocket successfully lifted off, climbing for about four minutes until it tumbled and exploded, well over the Gulf of Mexico. But...
SpaceX Plans Starship Launch April 20 in Second Lift-Off Try
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SpaceX Plans Starship Launch April 20 in Second Lift-Off Try

[ad_1] SpaceX is aiming to launch its next-generation Starship rocket on April 20, the second attempt for the groundbreaking flight after a pressurization issue upended the company's initial test.Elon Musk's closely held company announced the new date in a tweet on Monday, hours after postponing a planned inaugural test flight for the fully assembled vehicle. Minutes before scheduled liftoff on Monday, SpaceX scrubbed the flight, citing a “pressurization issue.” Officials had said they would need at least 48 hours before trying again. Musk had flagged a “frozen” pressure valve as an issue that might delay the launch in a tweet earlier in the day. But SpaceX made no reference to the issue in a statement about the new target date for sending Starship aloft. The new launch window will open...
FAA gives OK for SpaceX Starship test flight from Texas
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FAA gives OK for SpaceX Starship test flight from Texas

[ad_1] SpaceX has cleared the final hurdle for launching its new giant Starship from Texas as early as next week on a first test flight.The Federal Aviation Administration issued the long-awaited license on Friday. SpaceX announced that Starship — the world's biggest and most powerful rocket — could soar as soon as Monday. No people or satellites will be aboard the 394-foot (120-meter) rocket. SpaceX will attempt to send the spacecraft atop the colossal booster around the world, from the southern tip of Texas all the way to Hawaii. The first stage will be discarded in the Gulf of Mexico and the spacecraft into the Pacific. No landings will be attempted for this debut. It will be the first launch attempt of a full-size Starship, made of shiny stainless steel and powered by methane-fueled...
What to know about 1st test flight of SpaceX’s big Starship
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What to know about 1st test flight of SpaceX’s big Starship

[ad_1] Elon Musk's SpaceX is about to take its most daring leap yet with a round-the-world test flight of its mammoth Starship.It's the biggest and mightiest rocket ever built, with the lofty goals of ferrying people to the moon and Mars. Jutting almost 400 feet (120 meters) into the South Texas sky, Starship could blast off as early as Monday, with no one aboard. Musk's company got the OK from the Federal Aviation Administration on Friday. It will be the first launch with Starship's two sections together. Early versions of the sci-fi-looking upper stage rocketed several miles into the stratosphere a few years back, crashing four times before finally landing upright in 2021. The towering first-stage rocket booster, dubbed Super Heavy, will soar for the first time.For this demo, SpaceX w...
SpaceX ignites giant Starship rocket in crucial pad test
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SpaceX ignites giant Starship rocket in crucial pad test

[ad_1] SpaceX is a big step closer to sending its giant Starship spacecraft into orbit, completing an engine-firing test at the launch pad on Thursday. Thirty-one of the 33 first-stage booster engines ignited simultaneously for about 10 seconds in south Texas. The team turned off one engine before sending the firing command and another engine shut down — “but still enough engines to reach orbit!” tweeted SpaceX's Elon Musk. Musk estimates Starship's first orbital test flight could occur as soon as March, if the test analyses and remaining preparations go well. The booster remained anchored to the pad as planned during the test. There were no signs of major damage to the launch tower. NASA is counting on Starship to ferry astronauts to the surface of the moon in a few years, lin...
Space Startups Are Trying to Make Money Going to the Moon
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Space Startups Are Trying to Make Money Going to the Moon

[ad_1] For years, NASA has been planting the seeds of what it hopes will one day sprout into a full-fledged lunar economy. In the future, private companies could ferry people and cargo to and from the moon, creating a base to conduct science and, eventually, mine resources and even lunar ice as an ingredient to make rocket propellant. It's a grand vision that could start to take shape this year and eventually lead to a marketplace in which companies could use the lunar environment to turn a profit as they do now with orbiting satellites.Much will have to go right for that future to coalesce over the next decade or so, starting with making trips to and from the moon as routine as satellite launches. For now, the lunar economy consists mainly of money from NASA contracts, and it will pro...
SpaceX Conducts Dress Rehearsal for Starship Rocket System
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SpaceX Conducts Dress Rehearsal for Starship Rocket System

[ad_1] SpaceX filled its Starship rocket and massive booster with extremely cold propellant for the first time stacked together, a crucial test of its new deep-space launch system. SpaceX filled its Starship rocket and massive booster with extremely cold propellant for the first time stacked together, a crucial test of its new deep-space launch system ahead of its first orbital launch attempt. The procedure, conducted Monday at the company's Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas, is known as a wet dress rehearsal and is meant to run through all the major steps that engineers will need to perform on launch day — everything but launch itself. Starship is SpaceX's next-generation launch vehicle, designed to take cargo and people to deep space destinations like the moon and Mars. NA...
Five space exploration missions to look out for in 2023
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Five space exploration missions to look out for in 2023

[ad_1] It's been an eventful year for space exploration, with successes including the completion of Nasa's Artemis 1 mission (finally), the inauguration of the James Webb Space Telescope, and the completion of China's Tiangong space station.2023 is set to be another busy year. Here are five of the most exciting missions to watch out for. Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer In April, the European Space Agency (Esa) is set to launch the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice), in what will be Europe's first dedicated robotic mission to Jupiter. Juice is due to reach the planet in July 2031 after performing an incredible flight path through the Solar System. The mission will enter into orbit around Jupiter and perform numerous flybys of its large icy moons: Europa, Ganymede and Callisto.After four year...