Everything was ready for the long-awaited second launch of Starship, even permission from the FAA was received a few hours before the scheduled event. But we will have to wait another day to watch the historic flight of the ambitious SpaceX spacecraft.
First, the Starship was going to be launched on November 17. However, the start was suddenly postponed for another day. The delay is due to the need to replace a grid fin actuator responsible for breaking the first stage of the Super Heavy booster. The changes in plans were announced by the founder and CEO of the company, Elon Musk, on the social network X (formerly Twitter).
We need to replace a grid fin actuator, so launch is postponed to Saturday
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 16, 2023
The start of the Super Heavy (Booster 9) launch vehicle from the SpaceX Starbase in South Texas will take place during a 20-minute window, which will open on November 18 at 3 p.m. UTC time. The online broadcast is available in the video player below.
Starship is not just a spacecraft, but a whole next-generation transport system developed by SpaceX to deliver people and cargo to the Moon, Mars and even further. It consists of two reusable elements: a giant superheavy Booster 9 first stage and a 50 m high upper stage known as Starship. Together, they form the largest and most powerful spacecraft that has ever been launched into space. In a fully assembled state, Starship has a height of almost 122 m — this is 20 m higher than the Motherland Monument in Kyiv.
The first test flight on April 20, 2023 ended unsuccessfully. During it, the upper stage could not separate from the spacecraft, and SpaceX remotely detonated it high above the Gulf of Mexico four minutes after takeoff.
If everything goes according to plan this time, the first stage of the Super Heavy will land on water in the Gulf of Mexico seven minutes after launch. Meanwhile, Starship will approach orbital speed, make a partial orbit around our planet and land near the Hawaiian Islands about 90 minutes after launch.
Earlier we talked about what Starship was and what to expect from its second flight.
According to Space
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