SpaceX Starship integrated flight test 3
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| Mission type | Flight test |
|---|---|
| Operator | SpaceX |
| Mission duration | 1 hour, 4 minutes, 39 seconds (planned) |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft | Starship S28, Super Heavy B10 |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | March 14, 2024, 13:25:00 UTC |
| Rocket | Starship |
| Launch site | Starbase |
| Contractor | SpaceX |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Regime | Transatmospheric Earth orbit (planned) |
| Periapsis altitude | ~50 km (31 mi) (planned)[citation needed] |
| Apoapsis altitude | 235 km (146 mi) (planned)[citation needed] |
SpaceX Starship flights | |
SpaceX Starship integrated flight test 3 (IFT-3) is the third integrated flight test of the SpaceX Starship. SpaceX launched the test flight on March 14, 2024.[1]
Background
Changes from the previous flight
After the second test flight in November 2023 ended in the destruction of both the Super Heavy booster and the Starship spacecraft, 17 significant changes were made to the vehicles, including upgrading the ship to an electric thrust vector control (TVC) system[2] (the booster had been upgraded for IFT-2[3]) and delaying the vent of liquid oxygen (LOX) to after Starship engine cutoff (SECO).[2]
SpaceX upgraded the orbital tank farm with additional subcoolers and pumps to increase the propellant flow rate. In addition, two water tanks were removed and scrapped. Steel plates have been added to concrete at the base of the launch tower due to erosion from the engines. A concrete wall has replaced the HESCO barriers previously protecting the tank farm.[4]
Development prior to launch
![[icon]](/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section needs expansion with: with information about the actual "Development prior to launch". You can help by adding to it. (March 2024) |
The FAA closed its mishap investigation of the IFT-2 launch on February 26, 2024. In the mishap report, SpaceX identified 17 corrective actions, of which ten were for the Starship upper stage and seven for the Super Heavy booster.[5] Booster 10 and S28 conducted their individual static fire tests in late December 2023,[6] and a wet dress rehearsal was performed in early March 2024.[7] On March 5, 2024, SpaceX announced that they were targeting a launch date of March 14, 2024, pending regulatory approval.[8][9] On March 13, 2024, the FAA granted the launch license for IFT-3.[10]
Flight Profile
IFT-3 launched from the SpaceX Starbase facility along the South Texas coast. The test plan calls for the Super Heavy booster to conduct a boostback burn, followed by a soft water landing in the Gulf of Mexico;[1] while the Starship spacecraft will conduct several tests after engine cutoff, including a propellant transfer demo and an in-space Raptor engine re-light test.[11][12] It will then re-enter the atmosphere and splashdown in the Indian Ocean without performing a landing burn.[1][8]
| Time | Event | 14 Mar 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| −01:15:00 | SpaceX Flight Director conducts a poll and verifies go for propellant loading | Success |
| −00:53:00 | Starship oxidizer loading (liquid oxygen) underway | Success |
| −00:51:00 | Starship fuel loading (liquid methane) underway | Success |
| −00:42:00 | Super Heavy oxidizer loading (liquid oxygen) underway | Success |
| −00:41:00 | Super Heavy fuel loading (liquid methane) underway | Success |
| −00:19:40 | Booster engine chill | Success |
| −00:03:30 | Booster propellant load complete | Success |
| −00:02:50 | Ship propellant load complete | Success |
| −00:00:30 | SpaceX flight director verifies GO for launch | Success |
| −00:00:10 | Flame deflector activation | Success |
| −00:00:03 | Booster engine ignition | Success |
| 00:00:02 | Liftoff | Success |
| 00:00:52 | Max q (moment of peak mechanical stress on the rocket) | Success |
| 00:02:42 | Booster most engines cutoff (MECO) | Success |
| 00:02:44 | Starship engine ignition and stage separation (hot-staging) | Success |
| 00:02:55 | Booster boostback burn startup | Success |
| 00:03:50 | Booster boostback burn shutdown | Success |
| 00:06:36 | Booster is transonic | Success |
| 00:06:46 | Booster landing burn startup | 2 of 13 engines relit |
| 00:07:04 | Booster landing burn shutdown | Multiple engines failed to ignite, leading to high speeds and a hard splashdown. |
| 00:08:35 | Starship engine cutoff (SECO) | Success |
| 00:11:56 | Payload door open | Success |
| 00:24:31 | Propellant transfer demo | Success |
| 00:28:21 | Payload door close | Success |
| 00:40:46 | Raptor in-space relight demo | The engine relight demo was skipped, as it was optional. |
| 00:49:05 | Starship entry | Entry initially successful, telemetry and vehicle assumed lost shortly after. |
| 01:02:16 | Starship is transonic | Failure |
| 01:03:04 | Starship is subsonic | Failure |
| 01:04:39 | Starship splashdown | Failure |
See also
References
- ^ a b c d "Starship's Third Flight Test". SpaceX. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
- ^ a b "SpaceX - Updates". SpaceX. February 26, 2024. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
- ^ Robinson-Smith, Will (November 4, 2023). "SpaceX poised for 'mid-November' launch of second Starship test flight". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
- ^ Weber, Ryan (January 25, 2024). "Wet dress rehearsal on the horizon for Starship's third flight". NASASpaceFlight.com. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
- ^ Davenport, Christian [@wapodavenport] (February 26, 2024). "The FAA has closed the mishap investigation into the second Starship test flight" (Tweet). Retrieved March 7, 2024 – via Twitter.
- ^ SpaceX Dual Static fire of Booster 10 and Starship 28 (Video). NASASpaceFlight.com. Archived from the original on December 29, 2023. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
- ^ SpaceX Performs Third Attempt of B10/S28 Wet Dress Rehearsal (Video). NASASpaceFlight.com. March 4, 2024. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
- ^ a b Berger, Eric (March 6, 2024). "The next Starship mission has a tentative launch date: March 14". Ars Technica. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
- ^ Reisinger, Don (March 7, 2024). "SpaceX Starship Mission 3: How to Watch the March 14 Launch". CNET. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
- ^ "Commercial Space Transportation License No. VOL 23-129 Rev. 2". Federal Aviation Administration. March 13, 2024. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
- ^ Wall, Mike (March 7, 2024). "SpaceX to push the envelope on 3rd Starship test flight". Space.com. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
- ^ Tingley, Brett (March 6, 2024). "SpaceX eyes March 14 for 3rd Starship test flight". Space.com. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
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