Starship flight test 3

Last updated

Starship flight test 3
Video of Starship during flight test 3
Mission type Flight test
Operator SpaceX
Mission duration49 minutes, 35 seconds (achieved) [1]
1 hour, 4 minutes, 39 seconds (planned)
Orbits completed<1
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftStarship Ship 28
Spacecraft type Starship
ManufacturerSpaceX
Start of mission
Launch date13:25,March 14, 2024 (2024-03-14T13:25)  UTC (8:25 am  CDT)
Rocket Super Heavy (B10)
Launch site Starbase, OLP-A
End of mission
Destroyed14:14:35,March 14, 2024 (2024-03-14T14:14:35) UTC (9:14:35 am CDT) [1]
Orbital parameters
Regime Suborbital [1]
Periapsis altitude -54 km [1]
Apoapsis altitude 234 km (145 mi) [1]
Inclination 26.5° [1]
Starship flight test 3 patch.jpg
Mission patch
←  Flight 2
Flight 4  →

Starship flight test 3 was the third flight test of the SpaceX Starship launch vehicle. SpaceX performed the flight test on March 14, 2024. [2] [3]

Contents

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. [3] [4] [5]

Background

Changes from the previous flight

After the second flight test 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 [6] [7] (the booster had received similar upgrades for the second flight test [8] ) and delaying the vent of liquid oxygen (LOX) to after Starship engine cutoff (SECO). [6]

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]

Development prior to launch

Testing of the Flight 3 vehicles began just under a month after second flight test, [10] [11] with S28 and B10 undergoing their individual static fire tests in late December 2023. [12] [13] The FAA closed its mishap investigation of the second flight test 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. [14] Booster 10 and S28 conducted a wet dress rehearsal on March 3, 2024. [15] On March 5, 2024, SpaceX announced that they were targeting a launch date of March 14, 2024, pending regulatory approval. [16] [17] On March 13, 2024, the FAA granted the launch license for this flight, the third flight test. [18]

Flight profile

Starship flight test 3 launched from the SpaceX Starbase facility along the South Texas coast around 8:25 CDT. As with the second flight test, ignition of all 33 booster engines and stage separation were both successful. [19] B10 conducted a boostback burn. However, 6 engines began shutting down unexpectedly causing a premature boostback shutdown; the planned landing in the Gulf of Mexico was not successful due to the same six engines that failed before being disabled leaving seven engines commanded to startup with two successfully reaching ignition. Following the failures, SpaceX reported that the booster was destroyed at an estimated altitude of approximately 462 meters (1,516 ft). [2] The cause of these failures was determined by SpaceX to be filter blockage of liquid oxygen to the engines. A similar problem occurred in the second flight test, leading Booster 10 to get upgraded filtering. [20]

The Starship spacecraft itself reached space and the intended orbital velocity. It then conducted several tests after engine cutoff, including a successful 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. [21] [22] [3] According to SpaceX, S28 was experiencing excessive roll rates causing it to have an "off-nominal entry". This was caused by clogging of the valves responsible for roll control on Starship. [20]

Flight timeline

Aftermath

After the launch, SpaceX confirmed that Super Heavy was destroyed at 462 m above sea level over the Gulf of Mexico. [2] 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. [20]

Gwynne Shotwell, president and chief operating officer of SpaceX, said the company was still investigating the data and what went wrong in the third flight test, but that the fourth flight test could launch soon, possibly by early May. [24]

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." [25]

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. [26] 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. [27] 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.” [28] However, both are still needed in order for a launch license to be granted. [29]

On April 5, SpaceX requested that the FAA agree that the third flight test mishap did not present a public safety issue. [30] On May 11, SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk stated that the fourth Starship launch could occur in 3-5 weeks, bringing the date forward to early-mid June. The FAA investigation and launch license remained pending. [31] On May 17, the FAA made a statement that if the FAA agrees no public safety issues were involved in the mishap, SpaceX may return to flight while the third flight test investigation remains open, provided all other license requirements are met. [32] This statement does not constitute SpaceX being granted a Launch License. [32]

On May 24, SpaceX released a blog post stating the results from flight 3. According to SpaceX, during the boostback burn, 6 engines began to shut down, causing an early boostback shutdown. The vehicle prevented these engines from performing the landing burn, leaving only 7 engines. 2 of the engines were able to successfully ignite. The vehicle had lower than expected thrust, and it was lost at an altitude of 462 meters. The main likely cause of the boostback shutdown was due to filter blockage in the liquid oxygen intake, leading to loss of pressure in the oxygen turbopumps. According to SpaceX, several minutes after the ship engine cutoff (SECO), the valves responsible for the roll control thrusters were clogged. This precluded the in flight raptor relight test. Due to the unplanned roll, the ship experienced much higher heat loads in both unprotected and tiled sections.

In order to mitigate these issues, SpaceX has implemented hardware changes to the booster liquid oxygen tank to improve propellant filtration. SpaceX has also added more roll control thrusters on the ship for redundancy. Additionally, hardware and software changes were implemented to improve Raptor startup reliability. [20]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reusable launch vehicle</span> Vehicles that can go to space and return

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SpaceX</span> American private spacecraft company

Space Exploration Technologies Corp., commonly referred to as SpaceX, is an American space technology company. Since its founding in 2001, the company has made numerous advancements in rocket propulsion, reusable launch vehicle, human spaceflight and satellite constellation technology. By the late 2010s, SpaceX had become the world's dominant space launch provider, its launch cadence rivaling that of the Chinese space program and eclipsing all those of its private competitors. SpaceX, NASA and the United States Armed Forces work closely together by means of governmental contracts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Launch vehicle system tests</span> Preparation procedures for verifying carrier rocket performance

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SpaceX launch vehicles</span> Launch vehicles developed and operated by SpaceX

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SpaceX reusable launch system development program</span> Effort by SpaceX to make rockets that can fly multiple times

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 still developed reusable payload fairings for the Falcon 9.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SpaceX Starbase</span> SpaceX private launch site

Starbase is an industrial complex and rocket launch facility that serves as the main testing and production location for Starship launch vehicles, as well as the headquarters of the American aerospace manufacturer SpaceX. Located at Boca Chica, near Brownsville, Texas, United States, Starbase has been under near-continuous development since the late 2010s, and comprises a spaceport near the Gulf of Mexico, a production facility at Boca Chica village, and a test site along Texas State Highway 4.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vulcan Centaur</span> United Launch Alliance launch vehicle

Vulcan Centaur is a heavy-lift launch vehicle created and operated by United Launch Alliance (ULA). It is a two-stage-to-orbit launch vehicle consisting of the Vulcan first stage and the Centaur second stage. It replaces ULA's Atlas V and Delta IV rockets. It is principally designed for the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) program, which launches satellites for U.S. intelligence agencies and the Defense Department, but ULA believes it will also be able to price missions low enough to attract commercial launches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Falcon 9 Full Thrust</span> Third version of the SpaceX medium-lift launch vehicle

Falcon 9 Full Thrust is a partially reusable, two-stage-to-orbit, medium-lift launch vehicle designed and manufactured in the United States by SpaceX. It is the third major version of the Falcon 9 family, designed starting in 2014, with its first launch operations in December 2015. It was later refined into the Block 4 and Block 5. As of 14 November 2024, all variants of the Falcon 9 Full Thrust had performed 377 launches with only one failure: Starlink Group 9-3.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SpaceX Starship</span> Reusable super heavy-lift launch vehicle

Starship is a two-stage fully reusable super heavy-lift launch vehicle under development by American aerospace company SpaceX. On April 20, 2023, with the first Integrated Flight Test, Starship became the most massive and most powerful vehicle ever to fly. SpaceX has developed Starship with the intention of lowering launch costs using economies of scale, aiming to achieve this by reusing both rocket stages by "catching" them with the launch tower's systems, increasing payload mass to orbit, increasing launch frequency, mass-manufacturing the rockets and adapting it to a wide range of space missions. Starship is the latest project in SpaceX's reusable launch system development program and plan to colonize Mars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Falcon 9 Block 5</span> Fifth version of the SpaceX medium-lift launch vehicle

Falcon 9 Block 5 is a partially reusable, human-rated, two-stage-to-orbit, medium-lift launch vehicle designed and manufactured in the United States by SpaceX. It is the fifth major version of the Falcon 9 family and the third version of the Falcon 9 Full Thrust. It is powered by Merlin 1D engines burning rocket-grade kerosene (RP-1) and liquid oxygen (LOX).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SpaceX Raptor</span> SpaceX family of liquid-fuel rocket engines

Raptor is a family of rocket engines developed and manufactured by SpaceX. It is the third rocket engine in history designed with a full-flow staged combustion (FFSC) fuel cycle, and the first such engine to power a vehicle in flight. The engine is powered by cryogenic liquid methane and liquid oxygen, a mixture known as methalox.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Starship HLS</span> Lunar lander variant of SpaceX Starship

Starship HLS is a lunar lander variant of the Starship spacecraft that is slated to transfer astronauts from a lunar orbit to the surface of the Moon and back. It is being designed and built by SpaceX under the Human Landing System contract to NASA as a critical element of NASA's Artemis program to land a crew on the Moon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Starship flight test 1</span> First integrated test launch of SpaceX Starship

Starship flight test 1 was the maiden flight of the integrated 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. The launch was the first "integrated flight test," meaning it was the first time that both the Super Heavy booster and the Starship spacecraft flew together as a fully integrated Starship launch vehicle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SpaceX Super Heavy</span> Reusable first stage developed by SpaceX

Super Heavy is the reusable first stage of the SpaceX Starship super heavy-lift launch vehicle, which it composes in combination with the Starship second stage. As a part of SpaceX's Mars colonization program, the booster evolved into its current design over a decade. Production began in 2021, with the first flight being conducted on April 20, 2023, during the first launch attempt of the Starship rocket.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SpaceX Starship (spacecraft)</span> Reusable spacecraft under development by SpaceX

Starship is a spacecraft and second stage under development by American aerospace company SpaceX. Stacked atop its booster, the Super Heavy, the pair compose SpaceX's new super heavy-lift space vehicle, also called Starship. The spacecraft is designed to transport both crew and cargo to a variety of destinations, including Earth orbit, the Moon, and Mars. It's designed to be reusable and capable of landing propulsively by firing its engines to perform a controlled descent in the arms of a tower on Earth or with landing legs on other planetary bodies. It is intended to enable long duration interplanetary flights with 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, it will be used to refuel other Starship spacecraft, enabling them to reach higher orbits and other space destinations. Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, estimated in a tweet that eight launches would be needed to completely refuel a Starship in low Earth orbit, enabling it to travel onwards.

Before settling on the 2018 Starship design, SpaceX successively presented a number of reusable super-heavy lift vehicle proposals. These preliminary spacecraft designs were known under various names.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Starship flight test 2</span> Second launch of SpaceX Starship

Starship flight test 2 was the second flight test of the 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Starship flight test 4</span> Fourth launch of SpaceX Starship

Starship flight test 4 was the fourth flight test of the SpaceX Starship launch vehicle. The prototype vehicles flown were the Starship Ship 29 upper-stage and Super Heavy Booster 11. SpaceX performed the flight test on June 6, 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Starship flight test 5</span> Fifth launch of SpaceX Starship

Starship flight test 5 was the fifth flight test of a SpaceX Starship launch vehicle. The prototype vehicles flown were the Starship Ship 30 upper-stage and Super Heavy Booster 12. This launch is notable for being the first time an orbital-class rocket has been caught out of mid air.

Starship's Sixth Flight Test will be the sixth flight test of a SpaceX Starship launch vehicle. The prototype vehicles expected to be flown are the Ship 31 upper stage and first stage Booster 13. SpaceX is expected to perform the flight test no earlier than November 19, 2024, at 22:00 UTC.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 McDowell, Jonathan (April 24, 2024). "Jonathan's Space Report No. 832". Jonathan's Space Report . Retrieved November 14, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. 1 2 3 "Starship's Third Flight Test". SpaceX. Archived from the original on March 6, 2024. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 Chang, Kenneth (March 14, 2024). "SpaceX Blazes Forward With Latest Starship Launch". The New York Times . Archived from the original on March 14, 2024. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
  4. ↑ Sheetz, Michael (March 14, 2024). "SpaceX's Starship notches major flight test milestones, breaks up over Indian Ocean in final moments". CNBC. Archived from the original on March 14, 2024. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
  5. ↑ "SpaceX's Starship destroyed on return to Earth at end of third test flight". Theguardian. March 15, 2024. Archived from the original on March 15, 2024. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
  6. 1 2 "SpaceX - Updates". SpaceX . February 26, 2024. Archived from the original on September 13, 2024. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
  7. ↑ Davenport, Christian (February 26, 2024). "The FAA has closed the mishap investigation into the second Starship test flight". X (formerly Twitter). Retrieved November 14, 2024.
  8. ↑ Robinson-Smith, Will (November 4, 2023). "SpaceX poised for 'mid-November' launch of second Starship test flight". Spaceflight Now. Archived from the original on January 24, 2024. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
  9. ↑ Weber, Ryan (January 25, 2024). "Wet dress rehearsal on the horizon for Starship's third flight". NASASpaceFlight.com . Archived from the original on February 4, 2024. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
  10. ↑ SpaceX Rolls Out Ship 28 for Third Starship Flight Test Campaign, archived from the original on December 14, 2023, retrieved December 14, 2023.
  11. ↑ Alejandro Alcantarilla, Romera (December 18, 2023). "alexphysics13/status/1736722892878971139". Archived from the original on December 18, 2023. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
  12. ↑ SpaceX Static Fires Ship 28 for Third Starship Flight Test Campaign, archived from the original on December 20, 2023, retrieved December 20, 2023.
  13. ↑ SpaceX Dual Static fire of Booster 10 and Starship 28 (Video). NASASpaceFlight.com. Archived from the original on December 29, 2023. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
  14. ↑ Davenport, Christian [@wapodavenport] (February 26, 2024). "The FAA has closed the mishap investigation into the second Starship test flight" (Tweet). Retrieved March 7, 2024– via Twitter.
  15. ↑ SpaceX Performs Third Attempt of B10/S28 Wet Dress Rehearsal (Video). NASASpaceFlight.com. March 4, 2024. Archived from the original on March 6, 2024. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
  16. ↑ Berger, Eric (March 6, 2024). "The next Starship mission has a tentative launch date: March 14". Ars Technica . Archived from the original on March 6, 2024. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
  17. ↑ Reisinger, Don (March 7, 2024). "SpaceX Starship Mission 3: How to Watch the March 14 Launch". CNET . Archived from the original on March 8, 2024. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  18. ↑ "Commercial Space Transportation License No. VOL 23-129 Rev. 2". Federal Aviation Administration . March 13, 2024. Archived from the original on March 13, 2024. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
  19. ↑ SpaceX Launches Starship Test Flight #3. Archived from the original on March 17, 2024. Retrieved March 17, 2024– via YouTube.
  20. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 "ON THE PATH TO RAPID REUSABILITY". SpaceX.com. Archived from the original on May 24, 2024. Retrieved May 24, 2024.
  21. ↑ SpaceX Launches Third Starship Flight Test. Archived from the original on March 14, 2024. Retrieved March 14, 2024– via YouTube.
  22. ↑ Clark, Stephen (March 14, 2024). "SpaceX celebrates major progress on the third flight of Starship". Archived from the original on March 16, 2024. Retrieved March 16, 2024.
  23. ↑ "Starship's Third Flight Test". SpaceX . Archived from the original on March 6, 2024. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
  24. ↑ "SpaceX planning rapid turnaround for next Starship flight". March 19, 2024. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
  25. ↑ "Despite problems, SpaceX hails progress after third test of Starship rocket". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on March 15, 2024. Retrieved March 16, 2024.
  26. ↑ "FAA Statements on Aviation Accidents and Incidents". FAA. March 14, 2024. Archived from the original on March 14, 2024. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
  27. ↑ "SpaceX planning rapid turnaround for next Starship flight". March 19, 2024. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
  28. ↑ "FAA: no current plans to tax commercial space launches". SpaceNews. April 10, 2024. Retrieved April 14, 2024.
  29. ↑ "Marcia Smith on X: "At media bfg at Space Symp now, FAA/AST's..."". X. April 10, 2024. Retrieved April 22, 2024.
  30. ↑ Beil, Adrian (May 22, 2024). "The FAA has corrected the date of submission by SpaceX for the safety determination. Quote below". X (formerly Twitter). Retrieved May 22, 2024.
  31. ↑ "Musk sees fourth flight of SpaceX's Starship in 3-5 weeks". May 12, 2024. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
  32. 1 2 Adrian Bell (May 18, 2024). "Adrian Bell on X: "Statement of FAA provided to ..."". X. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.