A live webcast of the flight test will begin about 30 minutes before liftoff, which you can watch here and on X @SpaceX. As is the case with all developmental testing, the schedule is dynamic and likely to change.
SpaceX team aboard the recovery vessel Doug in the Atlantic securing a payload fairing half, which has supported 13 missions to-date, after last night's Starlink launch from Florida pic.twitter.com/lLThssS9QB
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) November 4, 2023
Falcon 9 launches 23 @Starlink satellites to orbit from Florida pic.twitter.com/ySzooKLjz4
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) November 4, 2023
Falcon 9’s first stage has landed on the A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship, completing the first 18th launch and landing of a booster pic.twitter.com/GIjqVFR4hc
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) November 4, 2023
Starship’s first flight test provided numerous lessons learned that directly contributed to several upgrades to both the vehicle and ground infrastructure to improve the probability of success on future flights. The second flight test will debut a hot-stage separation system and a new electronic Thrust Vector Control (TVC) system for Super Heavy Raptor engines, in addition to reinforcements to the pad foundation and a water-cooled steel flame deflector, among many other enhancements.
This rapid iterative development approach has been the basis for all of SpaceX’s major innovative advancements, including Falcon, Dragon, and Starlink. Recursive improvement is essential as we work to build a fully reusable transportation system capable of carrying both crew and cargo to Earth orbit, help humanity return to the Moon, and ultimately travel to Mars and beyond.
Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology.
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Taking longer to do paperwork than it takes to build/resdesign a rocket is not a reasonable amount of time. These are bureaucrats pretending to work to justify a workforce that could be cut by 75 percent.
The question, though, isn’t when SpaceX will be ready to launch. It’s when the Fish and Wildlife service will be ready to LET them launch.
Before the last launch, it wasn’t clear when the FAA would give the license for Starship to launch. Then, SpaceX set a launch date and, miraculously, the FAA released the launch license just data before the launch. It appears as if the same thing is happening again. The FWS has up to 135 days to issue their assessment of only one matter — the deluge system. If they take the full 135 days then yes, they are politically motivated to delay. But, if it is much sooner than that then they were just doing their job in a reasonable amount of time.