SpaceXStarship ready for launch at the Texas launch site
NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 10:48
Ivo Landman
editor Online
Ivo Landman
editor Online
Today, SpaceX will attempt to launch a Starship prototype into space for the second time. It is the most powerful rocket ever, which should take people to the moon and Mars in a few years. The launch is scheduled for 2:00 PM Dutch time or in the 20 minutes afterwards.
The test flight is awaited with mixed feelings in the town of Port Isabel, about 10 kilometers from SpaceX’s launch site in Texas. They vividly remember the first launch attempt on April 20 this year. Then the concrete beneath the launch pad was blown away with the force of an earthquake. Debris, some the size of a car, landed hundreds of meters away. A crater 7 meters deep was formed and dust blew through the streets in Port Isabel. The rocket itself had to be blown up after more than 3 minutes because it was not gaining enough speed.
Lots of changes since last attempt
This time there is less reason to worry for the residents of the town, expects space expert Ronald Klompe, affiliated with the space department of the Aviodrome. SpaceX has made numerous changes to both the launch pad and the two-stage rocket.
One of the things that went wrong on April 20 was that Elon Musk’s space company failed to install a sprinkler system that uses a huge amount of water to dampen supersonic combustion gases and acoustic shock waves. Such a system has been used by NASA for many years.
Initially, SpaceX thought it could do without it. “In the run-up to that first launch, they discovered that they would indeed need such a water system,” Klompe recalls. “But it wasn’t ready in time for April 20. So they put heat-resistant concrete underneath and hoped for the best. That didn’t work out well.” The water system has now been installed and tested a few times.
Brand
Also the rocket itself, consisting of a booster, the Super Heavy and on top of that Starship itself has been improved. During the April flight, six of the booster’s 33 engines did not work. A fire had broken out in the engines.
An improved fire fighting system has now been fitted and the engine targeting system is fully electric so no flammable hydraulic oil is required. “And there are hundreds of other improvements. The engines themselves are also from a generation later. So they should be more reliable.”
60 percent chance
SpaceX estimates the chance that the entire flight will be successful at about 60 percent. The main goal this time is to get Starship to break free from the booster, fly independently and land in the sea near Hawaii. To be on the safe side, shipping and air traffic in the area is being halted, both near Texas and Hawaii.
For this release, the company relies on an old technique that was mainly used by the Russians: hot staging. Of Starship’s engines are already ignited while the spaceship is still attached to the booster. That makes a risky maneuver with the Super Heavy unnecessary, but there is more risk of damage. “That is not a problem at all with a disposable rocket, but the intention is for this system to be completely reusable. So there is a special ring on top of the Super Heavy to divert the super hot gases away.”
Aerospace engineer Erik Laan expects that Starship will go further this time than in April. “I think that will work, and the more speed you build up, the greater the chance that Starship can make the entire planned flight.”
He hopes for spectacular images this afternoon. “That new water system is going to cause a huge cloud. And maybe we will also get images from Starship itself.”
Delay
All changes, but especially the long lack of permission from the American aviation authorities, have caused months of delays. The question is whether Starship is still on schedule. NASA wants to use a version of the spacecraft as a lunar lander, and the first landing (since 1972) is currently planned for the end of 2025, but according to Klompe that is completely unfeasible. “It won’t be long before NASA adjusts that to 2026 or later,” he expects. “The new moon suits are also far from flight-worthy.”
In the meantime, SpaceX is not sitting still. “They now have a new generation of rockets ready with new improvements, because they really want to get a ship into orbit with the third test launch.”
2023-11-18 09:48:44
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