Latest news with #Starship8
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
SpaceX set to conduct ninth Starship launch
May 27 (UPI) -- SpaceX is set to conduct its ninth test flight of its Starship spacecraft Tuesday after the vessel that it plans to ultimately use to send humans to space exploded in the sky during the two previous tests. The window for the latest flight test from Starbase, Texas, opens at 7:30 p.m. EDT and will be streamed live on SpaceX's website. The test flight is to be the first ever takeoff powered by a "flight-proven Super Heavy booster," which SpaceX hopes such boosters will one day be "capable of multiple launches per day." The Super Heavy will execute experiments after blastoff to generate data intended to help improve the vessel's future dependability and performance. The Starship stage of the rocket will attempt to deploy eight satellite simulators for the first time ever and will also relight its engine while in space. Additionally, some of the protective thermal tiles usually attached to protect Starship from heat have been removed for experimental purposes, and a variety of different tile options will be evaluated during the launch. Starship was cleared for the ninth flight test in May after the Starship 8 mission in March stopped commercial air traffic in Florida after SpaceX lost communication with the spacecraft shortly after launch. The spacecraft suffered engine failure and automatically self-destructed, sending debris falling across parts of South Florida and the Atlantic Ocean. The Starship 7 mission in January also exploded after launch, sending debris into the Gulf of Mexico. Tuesday's launch will feature a hazard zone twice the size of the one implemented for Starship 8. The Federal Aviation Administration also required SpaceX to secure a $550 million insurance policy to cover the hazard area that spans 1,600 miles from Starbase. SpaceX claims that Starship is "the world's most powerful launch vehicle ever developed," and can carry up over 165 tons of reusable parts, and more than 275 tons when expendable materials are in use. Starship spacecrafts are intended to serve for multiple launches and return landings with little maintenance. According to the SpaceX website, the Starship spacecraft is designed to "represent a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry both crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond." Elon Musk is scheduled to host a company talk from Starbase, Texas dubbed "The Road to Making Life Multiplanetary" via the SpaceX X account at 1 p.m. EDT Tuesday, which Musk said in a note posted to X earlier in May would explain the company's "Mars game plan."
UPI
27-05-2025
- Science
- UPI
SpaceX set to conduct ninth Starship launch
1 of 3 | SpaceX is set to conduct its ninth test flight of its Starship spacecraft on Tuesday. Photo by Joe Marino/UPI | License Photo May 27 (UPI) -- SpaceX is set to conduct its ninth test flight of its Starship spacecraft Tuesday after the vessel that it plans to ultimately use to send humans to space exploded in the sky during the two previous tests. The window for the latest flight test from Starbase, Texas, opens at 7:30 p.m. EDT and will be streamed live on SpaceX's website. The test flight is to be the first ever takeoff powered by a "flight-proven Super Heavy booster," which SpaceX hopes such boosters will one day be "capable of multiple launches per day." The Super Heavy will execute experiments after blastoff to generate data intended to help improve the vessel's future dependability and performance. The Starship stage of the rocket will attempt to deploy eight satellite simulators for the first time ever and will also relight its engine while in space. Additionally, some of the protective thermal tiles usually attached to protect Starship from heat have been removed for experimental purposes, and a variety of different tile options will be evaluated during the launch. Starship was cleared for the ninth flight test in May after the Starship 8 mission in March stopped commercial air traffic in Florida after SpaceX lost communication with the spacecraft shortly after launch. The spacecraft suffered engine failure and automatically self-destructed, sending debris falling across parts of South Florida and the Atlantic Ocean. The Starship 7 mission in January also exploded after launch, sending debris into the Gulf of Mexico. Tuesday's launch will feature a hazard zone twice the size of the one implemented for Starship 8. The Federal Aviation Administration also required SpaceX to secure a $550 million insurance policy to cover the hazard area that spans 1,600 miles from Starbase. SpaceX claims that Starship is "the world's most powerful launch vehicle ever developed," and can carry up over 165 tons of reusable parts, and more than 275 tons when expendable materials are in use. Starship spacecrafts are intended to serve for multiple launches and return landings with little maintenance. According to the SpaceX website, the Starship spacecraft is designed to "represent a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry both crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond." Musk is scheduled to host a company talk from Starbase, Texas dubbed "The Road to Making Life Multiplanetary" via the SpaceX X account at 1 p.m. EDT Tuesday, which Musk said in a note posted to X earlier in May would explain the company's "Mars game plan."
UPI
22-05-2025
- Science
- UPI
SpaceX mega-rocket Starship 9 cleared for launch following earlier mission failures
The SpaceX Starship rocket launches on its sixth flight test from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, in 2024. The Federal Aviation Administration has approved the launch of SpaceX's Starship 9 after two mission mishaps idled the program for months. File Photo by Joe Marino/UPI | License Photo May 22 (UPI) -- The Federal Aviation Administration has approved the launch of SpaceX's Starship 9 after two mission mishaps idled the program for months. "The FAA conducted a comprehensive safety review of the SpaceX Starship Flight 8 mishap and determined that the company has satisfactorily addressed the causes of the mishap, and, therefore, the Starship vehicle can return to flight," the FAA said in a statement. The FAA said it took several factors into account when clearing the Starship for a return to space, including public safety, unplanned debris and the performance of the craft's "safety-critical" systems. It mandated that SpaceX have a $550 million insurance policy to cover a potential hazard area that stretches 1,600 miles from the Starbase, Texas, launch site through the Straits of Florida, including the Bahamas and Turks & Caicos. The Starship 7 mission in January exploded minutes after launch, sending flaming debris raining into the Gulf of Mexico. The hazard zone for the upcoming launch is twice the size of the one created for the ill-fated Starship 8 mission in March. The FAA also required Starship 9 to be launched in "non-peak transit" hours. The Starship 8 mission failure stopped commercial air traffic in Florida when it went off course and spiraled out of control minutes after launch. Doubling the size of the hazard zone is partly the result of plans for Starship 9 to employ SpaceX's first-stage reusable fuel booster, known as Super Heavy, which is scheduled to return to the launch site. There it is designed to be captured with a pair of arms -- known as "chop sticks" -- and re-used in future missions. SpaceX has not announced a launch date, but scheduled airspace closures in the area suggest it could occur on May 27th, reported.
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
FAA issues ground stop after SpaceX loses contact with Starship 8 minutes into launch
March 6 (UPI) -- SpaceX's Starship 8 roared into the late afternoon Texas sky from Starbase near Brownsville Thursday, but scientists lost contact with the craft minutes later. It was the first test flight since Starship 7 exploded mid flight in January. "We have lost contact with the ship. "It is no longer providing telemetry," a commentator said on SpaceX's live stream. "It looks like several engines have shut down and we've lost control of the vehicle." SpaceX said there are several safety measures in place to keep the public safe in the event of a mishap. It's the second consecutive Starship mission that has ended in failure. The rocket exploded of the Florida coast minutes after the launch. The Federal Aviation Administration issued a ground stop for air traffic in Florida as a result of the errant rocket. Ground stops are typically issued when there is a security threat or bad weather. The first stage fuel cell returned successfully to a pair of waiting arms known as "chopsticks," which caught it minutes after the rocket hurtled toward space. Elon Musk's SpaceX said it had improved Starship's hardware systems to increase the reliability of its fuel cell since the failed mission of Starship 7, which exploded over the Turks and Caicos on Jan. 16, sending debris into the Caribbean. SpaceX blamed the Starship7 accident on a propellant leak, and released details of the explosion in a report. The company did not release details about the cause of the Starship 8 mission failure Thursday and said only that some of 6 Merlin engines that power the rocket appeared to have shut down midflight. Starship 8 was attempting to accomplish the same goals that the previous mission failed to do because of the accident. The Starship 8 mission was scheduled to fly the same suborbital trajectory as previous missions and will target objectives not reached on the previous test, including Starship's first payload deployment and multiple reentry experiments geared toward returning the upper stage to the launch site for catch. SpaceX said in addition to hardware updates, it also made improvements to Starship 8's forward flaps, modifying their ability to tilt and better protect itself from heat upon atmospheric reentry. "Starship's reentry profile is designed to intentionally stress the structural limits of the upper stage's rear flaps while at the point of maximum entry dynamic pressure, SpaceX added. That change is independent of a change to the rocket's propulsion system, which is reflected by an upgrade over previous missions that will allow for a 25% increase in the fuel cell's propellant volume and is not only expected to help on the Starship 8 mission, but on future ones, as well. SpaceX also made upgrades to the systems that allow a pair of mechanical arms, referred to as "chopsticks," that catch and harness the returning reusable fuel cell after it has sent the Starship into low-Earth orbit. Starship 8 was scheduled to deploy simulations of the next generation of SpaceX's Starlink satellites, part of the company's expanding network of Internet satellites.
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
FAA issues ground stop after SpaceX loses contact with Starship 8 minutes into launch
March 6 (UPI) -- SpaceX's Starship 8 roared into the late afternoon Texas sky from Starbase near Brownsville Thursday, but scientists lost contact with the craft minutes later. It was the first test flight since Starship 7 exploded mid flight in January. "We have lost contact with the ship. "It is no longer providing telemetry," a commentator said on SpaceX's live stream. "It looks like several engines have shut down and we've lost control of the vehicle." SpaceX said there are several safety measures in place to keep the public safe in the event of a mishap. It's the second consecutive Starship mission that has ended in failure. The rocket exploded of the Florida coast minutes after the launch. The Federal Aviation Administration issued a ground stop for air traffic in Florida as a result of the errant rocket. Ground stops are typically issued when there is a security threat or bad weather. The first stage fuel cell returned successfully to a pair of waiting arms known as "chopsticks," which caught it minutes after the rocket hurtled toward space. Elon Musk's SpaceX said it had improved Starship's hardware systems to increase the reliability of its fuel cell since the failed mission of Starship 7, which exploded over the Turks and Caicos on Jan. 16, sending debris into the Caribbean. SpaceX blamed the Starship7 accident on a propellant leak, and released details of the explosion in a report. The company did not release details about the cause of the Starship 8 mission failure Thursday and said only that some of 6 Merlin engines that power the rocket appeared to have shut down midflight. Starship 8 was attempting to accomplish the same goals that the previous mission failed to do because of the accident. The Starship 8 mission was scheduled to fly the same suborbital trajectory as previous missions and will target objectives not reached on the previous test, including Starship's first payload deployment and multiple reentry experiments geared toward returning the upper stage to the launch site for catch. SpaceX said in addition to hardware updates, it also made improvements to Starship 8's forward flaps, modifying their ability to tilt and better protect itself from heat upon atmospheric reentry. "Starship's reentry profile is designed to intentionally stress the structural limits of the upper stage's rear flaps while at the point of maximum entry dynamic pressure, SpaceX added. That change is independent of a change to the rocket's propulsion system, which is reflected by an upgrade over previous missions that will allow for a 25% increase in the fuel cell's propellant volume and is not only expected to help on the Starship 8 mission, but on future ones, as well. SpaceX also made upgrades to the systems that allow a pair of mechanical arms, referred to as "chopsticks," that catch and harness the returning reusable fuel cell after it has sent the Starship into low-Earth orbit. Starship 8 was scheduled to deploy simulations of the next generation of SpaceX's Starlink satellites, part of the company's expanding network of Internet satellites.
