Mission type | Flight test |
---|---|
Operator | SpaceX |
Mission duration | 49 minutes, 35 seconds (achieved) [1] 1 hour, 4 minutes, 39 seconds (planned) |
Spacecraft properties | |
Spacecraft | Starship S28, Super Heavy B10 |
Start of mission | |
Launch date | March 14, 2024, 13:25:00UTC |
Rocket | Starship |
Launch site | Starbase |
Contractor | SpaceX |
End of mission | |
Destroyed | March 14, 2024, 14:14:35 UTC [1] |
Orbital parameters | |
Regime | Suborbital (achieved) [1] Transatmospheric Earth orbit (planned) [1] |
Periapsis altitude | −50 km (−31 mi) (achieved) [1] 50 km (31 mi) (planned) [1] |
Apoapsis altitude | 234 km (145 mi) (achieved) [1] 235 km (146 mi) (planned) [2] |
Inclination | 26.5° [1] |
SpaceX Starship flights |
SpaceX Starship integrated flight test 3 (IFT-3) was the third integrated flight test of the SpaceX Starship launch vehicle. SpaceX performed the flight test on March 14, 2024. [3] [4]
Starship successfully completed a full-duration second stage burn, reaching the intended orbital velocity for the first time, but broke up during re-entry in the atmosphere. [4] [5] [6]
After the second test flight in November 2023 ended in the destruction of both the Super Heavy booster and the Starship spacecraft, 17 significant changes were made to the vehicles, including upgrading the ship to an electric thrust vector control (TVC) system [7] [ failed verification ] (the booster had been upgraded for IFT-2 [8] ) and delaying the vent of liquid oxygen (LOX) to after Starship engine cutoff (SECO). [7]
SpaceX upgraded the orbital tank farm with additional subcoolers and pumps to increase the propellant flow rate. In addition, two water tanks were removed and scrapped. Steel plates have been added to concrete at the base of the launch tower due to erosion from the engines. A concrete wall has replaced the HESCO barriers previously protecting the tank farm. [9]
This section needs expansionwith: with information about the actual "Development prior to launch". You can help by adding to it. (March 2024) |
The FAA closed its mishap investigation of the IFT-2 launch on February 26, 2024. In the mishap report, SpaceX identified 17 corrective actions, of which ten were for the Starship upper stage and seven for the Super Heavy booster. [10] Booster 10 and S28 conducted their individual static fire tests in late December 2023, [11] and a wet dress rehearsal was performed in early March 2024. [12] On March 5, 2024, SpaceX announced that they were targeting a launch date of March 14, 2024, pending regulatory approval. [13] [14] On March 13, 2024, the FAA granted the launch license for IFT-3. [15]
IFT-3 launched from the SpaceX Starbase facility along the South Texas coast around 8:25 CDT. As with IFT-2, ignition of all 33 booster engines and stage separation were both successful. [16] B10 successfully conducted a boostback burn; however, the planned landing in the Gulf of Mexico was not successful due to multiple engine failures. Following the failures, SpaceX reported that the booster was destroyed at an estimated altitude of approximately 462 metres (1,516 ft). [3] No cause was given for the loss of the booster.
The Starship spacecraft itself reached space and the intended orbital velocity. It then conducted several tests after engine cutoff, including a propellant transfer demo and payload dispenser test. It attempted to re-enter the atmosphere over the Indian Ocean, and at an altitude of around 65 km, all telemetry from Ship 28 stopped, indicating a loss of the vehicle. [17] [18] [4]
Time | Event | March 14, 2024 |
---|---|---|
−01:15:00 | SpaceX Flight Director conducts a poll and verifies go for propellant loading | Success |
−00:53:00 | Starship oxidizer loading (liquid oxygen) underway | Success |
−00:51:00 | Starship fuel loading (liquid methane) underway | Success |
−00:42:00 | Super Heavy oxidizer loading (liquid oxygen) underway | Success |
−00:41:00 | Super Heavy fuel loading (liquid methane) underway | Success |
−00:19:40 | Booster engine chill | Success |
−00:03:30 | Booster propellant load complete | Success |
−00:02:50 | Ship propellant load complete | Success |
−00:00:30 | SpaceX flight director verifies GO for launch | Success |
−00:00:10 | Flame deflector activation | Success |
−00:00:03 | Booster engine ignition | Success |
00:00:02 | Liftoff | Success |
00:00:52 | Max q (moment of peak mechanical stress on the rocket) | Success |
00:02:42 | Booster most engines cutoff (MECO) | Success |
00:02:44 | Starship engine ignition and stage separation (hot-staging) | Success |
00:02:55 | Booster boostback burn startup | Success |
00:03:50 | Booster boostback burn shutdown | Success |
00:06:36 | Booster is transonic | Achieved later than planned |
00:06:46 | Booster landing burn startup | 3 of 13 engines relit with 2 failing shortly after |
00:07:04 | Booster landing burn shutdown | Booster destroyed at an altitude of approximately 462 metres (1,516 ft) [3] |
00:08:35 | Starship engine cutoff (SECO) | Success |
00:11:56 | Payload door open | Attempted, result pending data review [20] [ disputed ] |
00:24:31 | Propellant transfer demo | Success [20] |
00:28:21 | Payload door close | Attempted, result pending data review [20] [ disputed ] |
00:40:46 | Raptor in-space relight demo | Planned relight not performed "due to vehicle roll rates" [3] |
00:49:05 | Starship entry | Vehicle lost during re-entry at an altitude of 65 km (40 mi) [17] |
01:02:16 | Starship is transonic | — |
01:03:04 | Starship is subsonic | — |
01:04:39 | Starship splashdown | — |
After the launch, SpaceX confirmed that Super Heavy was destroyed at 462 m above sea level over the Gulf of Mexico. [3] The status of the payload door test became one of the focuses of unofficial interpretations of the flight in YouTube and news articles, due to a perceived issue seen from the flight video concerning the payload door. SpaceX's account of the launch states that the payload test had been a success. [3]
Gwynne Shotwell, president and chief operating officer of SpaceX, said the company was still investigating the data and what went wrong in IFT-3, but that IFT-4 could launch soon, possibly by early May. [21]
NASA chief Bill Nelson praised SpaceX for "a successful test flight". He also stated, "Today we are making great strides through Artemis to return humanity to the Moon - then look onward to Mars." SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk also praised the team and stated "Starship will take humanity to Mars." [22]
On March 14, 2024, the FAA declared that a mishap had occurred involving both the upper stage and booster, triggering the start of a SpaceX-led investigation overseen by the FAA. [23] The agency's associate administrator for commercial space transportation, Kelvin Coleman, said on March 18 that he did not anticipate any major issues that could delay the investigation. Additionally, there was talk for the FAA to begin issuing a "portfolio of launches", authorizing multiple launches rather than a single launch at a time, as part of a broader effort to streamline the launch license process in response to criticism from SpaceX and Congress that the FAA was moving too slow on approving them. [24] The next launch license will likely require modification, but Coleman said the FAA may be able to first complete a public safety determination, finding that there were no flaws in critical safety systems on the March launch that would have endangered the safety of the uninvolved public. If so, “that would decouple the mishap investigation from the license modification, and that means that we could get the license modification done while the mishap investigation is ongoing.” [25] However, both are still needed in order for a launch license to be granted. [26]
A reusable launch vehicle has parts that can be recovered and reflown, while carrying payloads from the surface to outer space. Rocket stages are the most common launch vehicle parts aimed for reuse. Smaller parts such as rocket engines and boosters can also be reused, though reusable spacecraft may be launched on top of an expendable launch vehicle. Reusable launch vehicles do not need to make these parts for each launch, therefore reducing its launch cost significantly. However, these benefits are diminished by the cost of recovery and refurbishment.
Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, commonly referred to as SpaceX, is an American spacecraft manufacturer, launch service provider, defense contractor and satellite communications company headquartered in Hawthorne, California. The company was founded in 2002 by Elon Musk with the goal of reducing space transportation costs and ultimately developing a sustainable colony on Mars. The company currently operates the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets along with the Dragon and Starship spacecraft.
A launch vehicle is typically a rocket-powered vehicle designed to carry a payload from Earth's surface or lower atmosphere to outer space. The most common form is the ballistic missile-shaped multistage rocket, but the term is more general and also encompasses vehicles like the Space Shuttle. Most launch vehicles operate from a launch pad, supported by a launch control center and systems such as vehicle assembly and fueling. Launch vehicles are engineered with advanced aerodynamics and technologies, which contribute to high operating costs.
Falcon 9 is a partially reusable medium-lift launch vehicle that can carry cargo and crew into Earth orbit, designed, manufactured and launched by American aerospace company SpaceX. It can also be used as an expendable heavy-lift launch vehicle. The first Falcon 9 launch was on 4 June 2010. The first Falcon 9 commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS) launched on 8 October 2012. In 2020 it became the first commercial rocket to launch humans to orbit and remains the only such vehicle. It is the only U.S. rocket certified for transporting humans to the ISS. In 2022, it became the U.S. rocket with the most launches in history and with the best safety record, having suffered just one flight failure.
Falcon Heavy is a partially reusable super heavy-lift launch vehicle that can carry cargo into Earth orbit, and beyond. It is designed, manufactured and launched by American aerospace company SpaceX.
Launch vehicle system tests assess the readiness of a launch system to safely reach orbit. Launch vehicles undergo system tests before they launch. Wet dress rehearsals (WDR) and more extensive static fire tests prepare fully assembled launch vehicles and their associated ground support equipment (GSE) prior to launch. The spacecraft/payload may or may not be attached to the launch vehicle during the WDR or static fire, but sufficient elements of the rocket and all relevant ground support equipment are in place to help verify that the rocket is ready for flight.
SpaceX manufactures launch vehicles to operate its launch provider services and to execute its various exploration goals. SpaceX currently manufactures and operates the Falcon 9 Block 5 family of medium-lift launch vehicles and the Falcon Heavy family of heavy-lift launch vehicles – both of which are powered by SpaceX Merlin engines and employ VTVL technologies to reuse the first stage. As of 2024, the company is also developing the fully reusable Starship launch system, which will replace the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy.
SpaceX has privately funded the development of orbital launch systems that can be reused many times, similar to the reusability of aircraft. SpaceX has developed technologies over the last decade to facilitate full and rapid reuse of space launch vehicles. The project's long-term objectives include returning a launch vehicle first stage to the launch site within minutes and to return a second stage to the launch pad, following orbital realignment with the launch site and atmospheric reentry in up to 24 hours. SpaceX's long term goal would have been reusability of both stages of their orbital launch vehicle, and the first stage would be designed to allow reuse a few hours after return. Development of reusable second stages for Falcon 9 was later abandoned in favor of developing Starship, however, SpaceX developed reusable payload fairings for the Falcon 9.
Starbase is an industrial complex for Starship rockets, located at Brownsville, Texas, United States. It has been under construction since the late 2010s by SpaceX, an American aerospace manufacturer. Starbase is composed of a spaceport near the Gulf of Mexico, a production facility at the Boca Chica village, and a small structure test site along the Texas State Highway 4.
Falcon 9 Full Thrust is a partially reusable medium-lift launch vehicle, designed and manufactured by SpaceX. It was first designed in 2014–2015, with its first launch operations in December 2015. As of 18 April 2024, Falcon 9 Full Thrust had performed 305 launches without any failures. Based on the Laplace point estimate of reliability, this rocket is the most reliable orbital launch vehicle in operation.
A super heavy-lift launch vehicle is a rocket that can lift to low Earth orbit a "super heavy payload", which is defined as more than 50 metric tons (110,000 lb) by the United States and as more than 100 metric tons (220,000 lb) by Russia. It is the most capable launch vehicle classification by mass to orbit, exceeding that of the heavy-lift launch vehicle classification.
Starship is a two-stage super heavy-lift launch vehicle under development by SpaceX. It is the largest and most powerful rocket ever flown. Starship's primary objective is to lower launch costs significantly via economies of scale. This is achieved by reusing both rocket stages, increasing payload mass to orbit, increasing launch frequency, creating a mass-manufacturing pipeline, and adapting it to a wide range of space missions. Starship is the latest project in SpaceX's decades-long reusable launch system development program and ambition of colonizing Mars.
SpaceX Starship flight tests include 14 launches of prototype rockets during 2019—2024 for the SpaceX Starship launch vehicle development program. Eleven test flights were of single-stage Starship spacecraft flying low-altitude tests (2019–2021), while three were orbital trajectory flights of the entire Starship launch vehicle (2023–2024), consisting of a Starship spacecraft second-stage prototype atop a Super Heavy first-stage booster prototype. None of the flights to date has carried an operational payload. More flight tests are planned in 2024 and 2025.
Raptor is a family of rocket engines developed and manufactured by SpaceX. The engine is a full-flow staged combustion cycle (FFSC) engine powered by cryogenic liquid methane and liquid oxygen ("methalox").
SpaceX Starship integrated flight test 1 (IFT-1) was the first integrated flight test of the SpaceX Starship launch vehicle. SpaceX performed the flight test on April 20, 2023. The prototype vehicle was destroyed less than four minutes after lifting off from the SpaceX Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas. The vehicle became the most powerful rocket ever flown, breaking the half-century-old record held by the Soviet Union's N1 rocket.
Super Heavy is the first stage of the SpaceX Starship super heavy-lift launch vehicle, which it composes in combination with the Starship second-stage. As of 2024, Super Heavy prototypes are being flight tested. Super Heavy flew for the first time on April 20, 2023, during the first orbital launch attempt of the Starship rocket.
Starship is a spacecraft and second stage under development by American aerospace company SpaceX. Stacked atop its booster, Super Heavy, it composes the identically named Starship super heavy-lift space vehicle. The spacecraft is designed to transport both crew and cargo to a variety of destinations, including Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars, and potentially beyond. It is intended to enable long duration interplanetary flights for a crew of up to 100 people. It will also be capable of point-to-point transport on Earth, enabling travel to anywhere in the world in less than an hour. Furthermore, the spacecraft will be used to refuel other Starship vehicles to allow them to reach higher orbits to and other space destinations. Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, estimated in a tweet that 8 launches would be needed to completely refuel a Starship in low Earth orbit, extrapolating this from Starship's payload to orbit and how much fuel a fully fueled Starship contains. To land on bodies without an atmosphere, such as the Moon, Starship will fire its engines and thrusters to slow down.
SpaceX Starship Integrated Flight Test 2 (IFT-2) was the second integrated flight test of SpaceX Starship launch vehicle. SpaceX performed the flight test on November 18, 2023. The mission's primary objectives were for the vehicle to hot stage—a new addition to Starship's flight profile—followed by the second stage attaining a near-orbital trajectory with a controlled reentry over the Pacific Ocean, while the booster does a boostback burn with a propulsive splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico.