In the coming days, we can witness the most anticipated space event of 2023. SpaceX will conduct the second orbital test of the new Starship spacecraft. But why is its flight gets so much attention? And can Starship really revolutionize space travel? Let’s figure it out.
What is Starship?
Starship is the name of a fully reusable transportation system created by SpaceX. It consists of a spacecraft of the same name and an accelerator (first stage) called Super Heavy.
What are the dimensions of the Starship?
Starship is the largest launch vehicle in history. The weight of the Starship together with Super Heavy fully fueled is about 5,000 tons, and the height is 121 meters. The Super Heavy stage (its length is 71 meters) is equipped with 33 Raptor engines that use methane as a fuel and liquid oxygen as an oxidizer. The Starship (50 meters long) is equipped with six Raptor engines. In its reusable version, Starship will be able to deliver 100-150 tons of cargo to low Earth orbit.
For comparison, the height of the legendary Saturn V (it was used to transport American astronauts to the Moon) was 110 meters, the weight was 2965 tons. The rocket could deliver up to 140 tons of cargo into low Earth orbit.
How is Starship different from Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy and Dragon?
Given the variety of SpaceX equipment, laymen can easily get confused in its names. So, let’s figure it out.
Falcon 9 is a launch vehicle that is the main “workhorse” of SpaceX. It has a reusable first stage that lands on a barge in the ocean or on a land platform. Falcon 9 can take up to 22 tons of cargo into low Earth orbit.
The Falcon Heavy is essentially a modified version of the Falcon 9 with two additional stages used as side boosters. It can launch up to 63 tons of cargo into orbit.
Dragon is a capsule spacecraft. It exists in two versions. Cargo Dragon is used to deliver cargo to the ISS and return it to Earth. Crew Dragon is used for manned flights.
It is also worth recalling that SpaceX has been developing Starship since 2012. During this time, the system has repeatedly changed both its design and name, which creates additional confusion. In different years it was called Mars Colonial Transporter, Interplanetary Transport System and BFR.
Why do we need a Starship?
Starship is created as a multifunctional system designed to perform many different tasks. One of them is the delivery of large quantities of cargo into space. SpaceX plans to use the Starship cargo modification to launch the next generation of Starlink satellites, which are too large and heavy to be launched by conventional rockets, such as Falcon 9.
Another purpose of the Starship is to use it as an interplanetary transport system. According to the idea of SpaceX, it will become the basis for the project of the development and colonization of Mars. Another modification of the ship will be involved for the landing of American astronauts on the south pole of the Moon under the Artemis program.
Finally, Starship can be used for intercontinental passenger flights on Earth. According to SpaceX, Starship will be able to fly New York – Shanghai in just 39 minutes.
What is revolutionary about Starship?
Starship is the first fully reusable space system in history. Both the accelerator and the spacecraft itself will be reusable, allowing for significant reductions in launch costs. According to Elon Musk, within 2-3 years of operation, the cost of launching Starship will decrease to less than 10 million dollars. For comparison, the launch cost of the SLS rocket created by NASA is about 4 billion dollars. At the same time, it has a smaller payload than the Starship.
If SpaceX manages to achieve the announced launch price, it will make a real revolution in the space market. It should not be forgotten that Starship is not just a large rocket for launching cargo into orbit. The ship can land on other celestial bodies, and then take off from their surface. It can also be refueled in space and used as a tanker.
Another important feature of Starship is the use of methane as fuel. It is considered a more suitable fuel for reusable rockets because of its cheapness and the fact that it gives much less soot. Despite the fact that Starship will no longer win the methane rocket race, its successful flight will be an important milestone in this field.
Results of the first Starship test
The first flight of Starship took place on April 20, 2023. Its purpose was a comprehensive testing of system components and the collection of data that could not be obtained by computer simulation.
A giant rocket managed to rise into the sky. But during the ascent, a number of Raptor engines turned off at the Super Heavy booster. This was due to a fire in the engine compartment. As a result, the rocket reached a mark of 39 km, after which it finally lost control, began to rotate uncontrollably and then collapsed.
Later it turned out that during the launch of Starship, the launch pad received significant damage. A huge crater was literally formed in its concrete base.
In the following months, SpaceX engineers actively worked to eliminate the consequences of the launch and improve Starship. The launch pad was restored and received a water cooling system. And a lot of changes were made to the design of the Starship. In addition, it received a new stage separation system.
By the end of the summer, SpaceX announced its readiness to conduct a new Starship test in the near future. But for this, the company needed to obtain a flight permit from the US Federal Aviation Administration. The procedure for issuing it was delayed, which led to a number of loud statements from SpaceX, accusing the organization of bureaucracy. As a result, permission for a new flight was received on November 15.
What to expect from the next Starship flight?
The new Starship flight will take place according to the schedule of the first test. In general terms, it is as follows. A set of Super Heavy and a prototype Starship will be launched from the SpaceX test site near the Texas village of Boca Chica. After separation, the booster will perform a partial return manoeuvre and land in the Gulf of Mexico.
As for the prototype Starship, it will develop sufficient speed to enter low Earth orbit, and will make an incomplete orbit around the Earth. In the area of the Hawaiian Islands, the spacecraft will activate its engines and enter the atmosphere, after which it will be splashed into the ocean about 100 km from the northwest coast of the island of Kauai.
But all this is in theory. In practice, despite the number of changes have been made to the design of the Starship, in general, most experts are quite cautious about assessing the probability that it will fully comply with the test program. This opinion coincides with the very conservative estimates of SpaceX management. At the moment, the key task of the test is to bring the spacecraft to the point of separation of the booster and work out the procedure in practice. That is why there is no even symbolic load on board the Starship.
Also, the second flight of Starship will assess the effectiveness of measures aimed at reducing damage to the launch pad. If every Starship launch is accompanied by the destruction of the launch table, it is obvious that such a system cannot be operated often. So, soon we know how well SpaceX specialists could do the work on the mistakes and prepare for a new test.
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