SpaceX Starship: Highlights of Third Flight Test
On March 14, 2024, Starship successfully lifted off at 8:25 a.m. CT from Starbase in Texas and went on to accomplish several major milestones and firsts.
Starship's six second stage Raptor engines all started successfully and powered the vehicle to its expected orbit, becoming the first Starship to complete its full-duration ascent burn. Starship went on to experience its first ever entry from space, providing valuable data on heating and vehicle control during hypersonic reentry. Live views of entry were made possible by Starlink terminals operating on Starship.
This rapid iterative development approach has been the basis for all of SpaceX’s major innovative advancements, including Falcon, Dragon, and Starlink. Recursive improvement is essential as we work to build a fully reusable transportation system capable of carrying both crew and cargo to Earth orbit, help humanity return to the Moon, and ultimately travel to Mars and beyond.
"Starship is essential to both SpaceX’s plans to deploy its next-generation Starship system as well as for NASA, which will use a lunar lander version of Starship for landing astronauts on the moon during the Artemis III mission through the Human Landing System (HLS) program."
Key Starship Parameters:
Height: 121m/397ft
Diameter: 9m/29.5ft
Payload to LEO: 100 – 150t (fully reusable)
Satellites: "Starship is designed to deliver satellites further and at a lower marginal cost per launch than our current Falcon vehicles. With a payload compartment larger than any fairing currently in operation or development, Starship creates possibilities for new missions, including space telescopes even larger than the James Webb."
Super Heavy is the first stage, or booster, of the Starship launch system. Powered by 33 Raptor engines using sub-cooled liquid methane (CH4) and liquid oxygen (LOX), Super Heavy is fully reusable and will re-enter Earth’s atmosphere to land back at the launch site.
"The Raptor engine is a reusable methalox staged-combustion engine that powers the Starship launch system. Raptor engines began flight testing on the Starship prototype rockets in July 2019, becoming the first full-flow staged combustion rocket engine ever flown."
Raptor Engine Parameters:
Diameter: 1.3m/4ft
Height: 3.1m/10.2ft
Thrust: 230tf/500 klbf
Download the Free Starship User Guide (PDF):
https://www.spacex.com/media/starship_users_guide_v1.pdf
Video Credit: Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX)
Duration: 2 minutes, 22 seconds
Release Date: April 4, 2024
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