Mars surface shown in image of a magnificent patient rover
NASA reveals panoramic photos of the surface of Mars.
The 33 engines provided power, and SpaceX’s huge spaceship slowly crept into the sky. It has begun its 10th test flight from Texas.
Previous flights didn’t go as expected, but this time it was different.
On the August 26th test flight, super heavy boosters from the Gulf of America, formerly known as the Gulf of Mexico, were scattered. SpaceX has demonstrated its ability to catch boosters at launch towers in the past, but this splashdown was planned. SpaceX was driving booster capabilities.
Meanwhile, the ship will coast in orbit and open the payload bay doors normally.
A mockup Starlink satellite drifted off the ship. Starship had its first payload expansion. This is a major milestone in the program.
“Place the ship on the bow.”
Within 38 minutes of flight, Starship hit another milestone by re-rated one of the ship’s engines in space. This is a critical component for a controlled reentry.
However, upon re-entrying, the rear “skirt” of the spaceship was subject to the damage shown in the live view of the flight. SpaceX claims this is expected as it was emphasized that the ship would intentionally acquire data.
“We put the boat on the bow,” said Dan Huot of SpaceX.
About an hour and six minutes after the flight, the giant ship set fire to its engines, flipped and splashed through the Indian Ocean. Even with the ending, the flight hit all the big milestones. Now the team will check the data.
“Congratulations to @Spacex for successfully launching Starship and splashdown! This will bring America back to the moon and one important step to reach Mars,” wrote Senator Mike Harudopolos in X shortly after the flight.
Monster Rocket will be released one day by Cape Canaveral and NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.
SpaceX deals with Cape Canaveral crowds in Starship
“There’s fear. ‘Oh, my God, the spaceship will shut down everything,” the Vice President of Launch at SpaceX told local crowds during the 7th Annual Space Coast Symposium on August 22nd. “That’s not true.”
Local horrors of the big rocket include road closures, noise and air pollution, damage to infrastructure, temporary closures at Playa Linda Beach, and industry disruptions such as fishing.
“Is it a big rocket, sure? Yes, it’s bigger than the Falcon 9. In fact, this is the biggest rocket ever built,” says Dontchev. “But we did a lot of work to understand how to reduce the impact essentially.”
NASA is under pressure to land Artemis III III crews on the moon before the Chinese plan by 20303.
Dontchev mentioned long ongoing environmental research through NASA, the Space Force, and the Federal Aviation Administration. He said SpaceX’s goal is for Starship to become an asset to Space Coast.
SpaceX is seeking a spaceship for the maiden to sail the maiden to Mars by the second half of 2026, when the planet is next closest to Earth.
Spaceship and Starbase
However, before SpaceX can acquire it, multiple spacecrafts need to be launched and refueled in orbit. This will be done through ship-to-ship propellant imports that future Milestone SpaceX will be testing.
The purpose of this flight was the same as what I missed on Flight 9 in late May. I deployed eight Starlink simulators and learned one of the ship’s Raptor engines while in space.
SpaceX has been launching Starship from Starbase, Texas for years, and has had multiple successes, including catching a huge first-stage booster at the launch towers of its fifth and seventh flights, including several flights that will be coasts in space for nearly an hour.
After these successes, the program appeared to be retreating, the ship was lost very early in the flight, even exploded at a Texas test stand.
“We definitely have some challenges at Starbase,” says Dontchev. “The SpaceX approach is to fly and test. That’s always been our approach.”
Dontchev explained that companies can make many designs and plans on paper, but it remains unknown that the design will really work until that rocket flies. SpaceX does not intentionally plan obstacles, but we learn from them.
SpaceX is receiving funding from NASA to develop Artemis Missions human landing systems, but SpaceX claims it funds a large portion of its Starship program.
“We really managed to push the envelope,” Dontchev said. “As long as we are safe and good stewards, it’s okay to break things. If there’s a problem, we’re handling the business.”
Dontchev mentioned Cape Canaveral’s past, including testing rockets in the 1950s and 1960s, many of which failed spectacularly. However, unlike previous rockets, the spacecraft has not been tested at Cape Canaveral.
“With a spaceship, you get a better machine that’s ready for the party,” says Dontchev.
SpaceX intentionally emphasizes the ship on these test flights. A major milestone in the spaceship program is that the ship not only completes its orbit, but also returns to the launch site.
“The flight test includes several experiments focused on allowing the Starship upper stage to return to the launch site. During the re-entry, a considerable number of tiles were removed from the spacecraft into stress test vulnerable areas across the vehicle,” SpaceX said on its website about the current flight.
The goal is to ultimately see a fully reusable boot system. This dramatically reduces the cost of launching into space than the Falcon program.
It is common for the company’s Falcon 9 rocket to land and reuse the first stage, but the top is discarded. When SpaceX gets a Starship to fully meet its goal, it eliminates it.
“That’s how we can significantly reduce the cost of access to the space and increase the amount of capacity to the track,” dontchev says..
Dontchev also said SpaceX is welcoming competition with other launch providers coming to Florida.
“We want to help DOD and KSC design space ports that aren’t just SpacePort, but SpaceX,” says Dontchev. “We want blue origins. We want relativity… we want Stoke to come in and flourish and succeed.”
SpaceX Starship released by Florida
When Starship launches Florida launch pads (NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Pad 39a and launches the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Complex 37, the returning super-heavy boosters and ships will create a sonic boom. SpaceX will also be launching frequently with quick conversion times for fully reusable rockets.
Upcoming Starship Impact Meetings in Florida
“As we stabilize that rocket, we’re going to operate it and bring it to Florida,” Dontchev said.
Space Force and the Federal Aviation Administration are currently finalizing their environmental assessment before the first launch from Florida occurs, and public comments are welcome.
The Federal Aviation Administration is holding a public meeting this week in the Kennedy Space Center’s draft environmental impact statement. Virtual meetings will be available on September 3rd from 6pm to 8pm for those who cannot participate in in person. Interested people can register online.
Brooke Edwards is a Florida space reporter today. Please contact her at bedwards@floridatoday.com Or with x: @brookeofstars.
