IFT-5: Super Booster, Mega Sonic Boom

August 7, 2024Posted inSpace News, SpaceX, Starship
A SpaceX Starship powered by a Super Heavy Booster rises out of the early morning fog during the IFT-2 launch on 11-18-2023 to the astonishment of spectator at Isla Blanca Park. Image by Richard P Gallagher

 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!

Elon Musk Deep Fake Hits The Internet During Starship Launch

Elon Musk Deep Fake Hits The Internet During Starship Launch

June 6, 2024Posted inSpaceX, Starship
A deepfake broadcast of Elon Musk hawking cryptocoins was broadcast by multiple Youtube streams as part of this morning’s launch coverage. The streams have since been removed. Photo: Youtube

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.

Starship IFT-4 A Big Success

Starship IFT-4 A Big Success

June 6, 2024Posted inSpace News, SpaceX, Starship
IFT-4 climbs through a layer of fog and haze just after leaving the pad at Starbase this morning. Photo: Richard Gallagher/FMN
IFT-4 climbs through a layer of fog and haze just after leaving the pad at Starbase this morning. Photo: Richard Gallagher/FMN

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.

New EIS Suggests More Than One Starship Pad Planned For KSC/CCSFS

New EIS Suggests More Than One Starship Pad Planned For KSC/CCSFS

May 10, 2024Posted inSpace News, SpaceX, Starship

SpaceX Starship lifting off on the IFT-2 test from Boca Chica Texas. Photo: Chris Leymarie, Florida Media Now
SpaceX Starship lifting off on the IFT-2 test from Boca Chica Texas.
Photo: Chris Leymarie, Florida Media Now

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.

FAA Grounds Starship Flights…Again

FAA Grounds Starship Flights…Again

March 15, 2024Posted inSpace News, SpaceX, Starship
Starship IFT-3 ,surrounded by hot plasma during reentry just prior to loss of communications on March 14, 2024 Screenshot: SpaceX
Starship IFT-3 ,surrounded by hot plasma during reentry just prior to loss of communications on March 14, 2024 Screenshot: SpaceX

It probably will come as no surprise to anyone that SpaceX’s Starship program is once again grounded pending another mishap investigation.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced on Thursday that it has initiated its third mishap investigation into the Starship program following an anomaly during its latest orbital test flight, IFT-3, on March 14, 2024. This inquiry marks yet another pause in the testing of the huge rocket, which reigns as the largest and most powerful rocket in history.

Despite Vehicle Loss, IFT-3 Checked A Lot Of Boxes for SpaceX

Despite Vehicle Loss, IFT-3 Checked A Lot Of Boxes for SpaceX

March 14, 2024Posted inSpace News, SpaceX, Starship
Starship OFT Launches From Boca Chica on March 14, 2202
Starship OFT 3 launches on March 14, 2024. Photo: Richard Gallagher/FMN

SpaceX successfully launched the third Integrated Flight Test (IFT) of a Starship this morning from the company’s Starbase test facility in Boca Chica, TX. With the launch, IFT-3 became the first Starship mission to reach orbit. Hopes ran high for the test mission as the countdown to the 8:25 AM CDT launch proceeded flawlessly with no holds.

SpaceX’s Starship Launch Culminates in Unexpected RUD: An Onsite Report from Boca Chica

November 19, 2023Posted inAviation and Space News, Space News, SpaceX, Starship
Starship Launch
Starship OFT-2 leaps from the pad in a picture-perfect launch. Photo: Chris Leymarie/FMN

In an event that captivated space enthusiasts worldwide, SpaceX’s latest Starship vehicle, hailed as the most powerful rocket ever manufactured, encountered an unexpected conclusion in its test flight early this morning. The day began with an air of excitement and anticipation as crowds gathered at Boca Chica, Texas, with the closure of Boca Chica Blvd. at midnight.

SpaceX’s Starship Had a Spectacular Liftoff, But Then …

November 18, 2023Posted inAviation and Space News, Space News, SpaceX, Starship
Starship launches
Starship OFT -2 Launces from Space X’s Starbase in Boca Chica, TX at 7:02 AM This morning. Photo: Richard Gallagher/FMN

SpaceX’s new Starship Superheavy launch vehicle experienced it’s second Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly (RUD) in as many test flights Saturday morning. (That’s space geek talk for “it blew up”).