SpaceX’s Starship Megarocket is ready for launch after two cancellations | US News

SpaceX After scrubbing twice in two days, it is preparing for its third launch on Tuesday to launch its starship Megarocket.

The tenth test flight was a question of whether the world’s most powerful launch vehicle could achieve its founder’s doubts after a series of explosive failures Elon MuskVision of colonizing Mars or helping NASA return astronauts to the moon.

At 403 feet (123 meters), the stainless steel behemoth is set to take off in the Starbase in southern Texas when the windows are open local time (2330 GMT).

Monday’s launch scrub was blamed on the weather, as thick clouds hung overhead most of the day, forcing 40 seconds left to countdown. Billionaire Musk wrote on X that Sunday’s attempt was scrubbed due to a leak of liquid oxygen from the Starship launch pad.

After the last three flights, the upper stage exploded: twice in the Caribbean and once in space, both riding. In June, during ground testing, high-rises exploded.

“We’ve gone through a lot of tests and haven’t proven ourselves reliable,” Dallas Kasaboski, a space analyst at consulting firm Analysys Mason, told AFP. “Success does not outweigh failures.”

The goal is to send the upper ship (eventually intended to carry crew and cargo) to the world midway and then splash down northwest Australia.

Equipped with prototype hotscreen material, it will deploy virtual starlink satellites while driving to emphasize the trajectory of its rear flaps.

The booster, known as “overweight” will splash out in the Gulf of Mexico. although SpaceX Previously, by grabbing the watcher of the booster in the “Chopstick Weapon” of the launch tower, the flight would focus on data collection below the ideal flight profile.

Despite recent setbacks, Starships are not seen as being at a crisis point. SpaceX’s “failure, fast learning” philosophy has attracted a lead in launching the Falcon Rocket International Space Station Starlink has become a geopolitical asset.

Still, Starship presents new challenges. Musk has determined to develop a fully reusable orbital heat shield as the most difficult task, noting that nine months have been conducted between flights to reinstall the shuttle’s heat shield.

“What we’re trying to achieve here is to have a heat shield that can fly right away,” he said on a webcast on Monday.

SpaceX’s Starlink Satellite Internet business is the main source of the company’s revenue and is also associated with Starship’s success. Musk’s goal is to use Starship to launch a large number of interstellar link satellites, which SpaceX’s Workhorse Falcon 9 Rocket has deployed into space so far.

Musk is still optimistic. “In about 6 or 7 years, the Starship has been launched more than 24 times in 24 hours,” the entrepreneur said Sunday.

Another obstacle is the demonstration that it is possible to refuel on tracks with ultra-cooled propellant, an essential step for the vehicle to perform deep space missions.

It’s almost the same time, and a modified version of NASA’s Lunar Lander was prepared for 2027, and Musk vowed to send an unsuccessful starship to Mars in his vow next year.