Orbital refueling of a starship (example). © SpaceX
Space is exciting again, almost as much as it was in the golden age of Russian and American missions. Starship is definitely the current megastar of rockets thanks to its more than enough and its best aspects. This was the case on October 13 with the Mechazilla Tower holding a (large) rocket stage for the first time in history.
A month later, at 11 a.m. (Paris time), Monday, November 18, or 4 p.m., a new test is announced in Boca Chica (Texas). Will Elon Musk celebrate the victory of his folder Donald Trump in the presidential election there on the occasion of this sixth starship test? No one would be surprised if the “President-elect” appeared, especially since the risk of failure is quite limited, we’ll see why.
SpaceX is planning a Starship launch every 15 days soon!
Less than five weeks after SpaceX’s legendary feat, this pace of launches may seem insane. Nevertheless, this speed is necessary to meet the deadlines imposed by the contract signed with NASA, which uses the Starship’s upper stage to land two astronauts on the Moon in 2026 during the Artemis 3 mission. intends to To achieve this goal, Elon Musk and SpaceX have already revealed their goal of one flight every 15 days in a fairly short period of time. So this extreme speed requires regular performance, without interruption, and now we know that the superheavy’s catch in October came just one second from self-destruction!
Here is the ITF-6 flight plan for November 18 (click image):
You might say to yourself that this sounds a lot like the ITF-5, and that’s right and logical for a number of reasons. First, the FAA, which administers flight authorizations, simultaneously issued contracts for ITF-5 and 6, which had similar flight plans. In fact, if there is a significant modification, a new application must be filed in accordance with US federal authority rules. Furthermore, if the recovery flight on October 13 worked, it was a miracle and we will have to do a much better job this time, especially on thermal protections that overheat, or burn out. That’s good, new content will be tested during the next launch.
Major New Feature: The re-ignition of the starship’s Raptor engine is finally the goal of a true orbital flight!
Until now, starship tests have been just below orbit (at least 160 km altitude), with flight not controlled to prevent the ship from becoming debris after a ballistic trajectory. So it’s a big problem, an obligation for SpaceX to get the re-ignition of the engines in the surrounding orbit faster. This re-ignition is also a prerequisite for achieving in-flight refueling in 2025, which is absolutely necessary for the Artemis lunar mission and future Mars missions, both of which are in high demand for fuel.
It is also likely that this Starship model will be the last of its generation, with Elon Musk’s space company announcing that the ITF-7 will fly a Starship V2 with software development, larger tanks and flaps (wings in French). The latter has actually been a problem for a long time: they tend to overheat during re-entry into the atmosphere, as we saw again during the previous flight.
The starship’s flaps catch fire during re-entry. © SpaceX
Please note, the firing window for this upcoming flight is only 30 minutes, between 11 am and 11:30 am local time.
The announcement of the November 18 date came as the official video of SpaceX’s test last October was released. No, we never get tired of it!
