The FAA announced on Twitter at 4:15 ET today that it has granted a launch license to SpaceX for the second orbital launch attempt of the Starship SuperHeavy rocket.
The two hour launch window opens at 8 AM ET Friday morning. SpaceX will host a live webcast of the event beginning at 7:30 AM ET at www. Spacex.com/Launch
The Starship Super Heavy
The Starship SuperHeavy is the largest, most powerful rocket ever built, and is critical to Nasa’s planned Artemis manned moon missions. Artemis manned flights are scheduled to begin next year, though the SuperHeavy will not be flying Human beings anytime soon. The SuperHeavy is the rocket that may one day pave the way for manned missions to Mars.
The Mission
This will be the second Orbital Test Flight (OTF) for the Starship SuperHeavy, and will end with the Starship portion of the vehicle reaching orbit and then being discarded into the ocean. The first OTF in April, 2023 ended in a “successful failure” when the second stage failed to seperate from the first, and the flight was terminated. That launch also resulted in an incredible amount of damage to SpaceX’s Boca Chica, TX launch complex, necessitating a redesign of the pad to include a water suppression system.
SpaceX believes that they have solved both the launch pad and stage separation issues in just a few short months. We’ll find out Friday if all goes as planned.
FMN Coverage
FMN senior Correspondent Richard Gallagher will be on site at Starbase in South Texas to cover the history making SpaceX launch.
