SpaceX is preparing for its sixth integrated flight test (IFT-6) of the Starship launch system, scheduled for November 19, 2024, at 4:00 PM CST from the Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas.
SpaceX shared on its X page on Monday that it is targeting Monday, November 18th, for the next launch of the Starship program. The announcement comes only three weeks after SpaceX’s last launch from Star Base in Boca Chica, TX.
In an unexpected revelation, SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk recently offered a glimpse into the challenges of Starship development during a live-streamed gaming session. While playing Diablo IV, Musk inadvertently broadcast a private conversation with SpaceX engineers highlighting how close the company’s Starship Super Heavy booster came to aborting a planned landing attempt on its most recent flight.
For Richard Gallagher, a tenacious photographer from Merritt Island, Florida, the pursuit of documenting rocket launches has always been more than just a hobby—it’s a calling. So, when SpaceX announced that their fifth integrated test flight (IFT-5) would attempt the first-ever catch of the Super Heavy Booster, Richard knew this was a moment in history he had to capture. The only problem? The launch site was nearly 1400 miles away, and the drive there would be anything but easy.
SpaceX’s fifth flight test of a complete Starship was a resounding success. After watching that launch, it is hard not to be inspired by what is coming for SpaceX and humanity.
Watching a Starship launch from South Texas can be an exciting experience! The trick is knowing when to be there. For now, that might take a little detective work.
SpaceX’s Starship Integrated Flight Test 5 (IFT-5) is poised to be one of the most ambitious tests in the company’s history. With major technical upgrades and a first of its kind booster catch attempt, SpaceX aims to further demonstrate the capabilities of its fully reusable mega rocket system. If successful, will the sonic boom produced by the Super Heavy booster equal a super sonic boom? This article will explore what affects the loudness of a sonic bomb and more!
If you were watching SpaceX’s live launch coverage of the Starship launch this morning on any one of a several dozen Youtube Channels, you may have gotten a big surprise. The channels, which appeared high in Youtube’s rankings, carried SpaceX’s legitimate broadcast down to just a few minutes before launch when they smoothly transitioned to a video of Elon Musk, presumably at Starbase.
SpaceX’s Starship rocket embarked on a successful test flight from Texas on Thursday, launching at about 8:50 a.m. EDT from SpaceX’s Starbase facility near Boca Chica, Texas. This fourth test flight saw the world’s largest and most powerful rocket—standing nearly 400 feet tall—take off without any crew onboard, aiming for a journey across the Gulf of Mexico and eastward to the Indian Ocean for a planned hour-long flight.
The Federal Aviation Administration, NASA and other parties have published a notice of intent to conduct an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for SpaceX Starship launches from Pad LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center, where it anticipates up to forty-four launches and landing at the facility.
The good folks over at Cosmic Perspective / Everyday Astronaut captured some spectacular footage of the IFT-3 launch from their multiple remote cameras last week. No doubt, it’s the best to date. Well done!