SpaceX is set to conduct the first orbital flight test of a fully integrated Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket — together called Starship — on Monday, April 17, 2023. The 150-minute test window for the launch of Starship from Starbase in Texas will open at 8:20 am CT (6:50 pm IST) on April 17, SpaceX said in a statement.
Starship has been fully stacked at Starbase, one of the world's first commercial spaceports designed for orbital missions, and is the site for development and manufacturing of Starship.
Starship flight test: when and how to watch online
SpaceX will stream a live webcast of the orbital flight test about 45 minutes before liftoff.
People can watch the launch online on the official YouTube channel of SpaceX, or on the SpaceX website.
SpaceX Starship's suborbital tests
SpaceX has completed several sub-orbital flight tests of Starship's upper stage, or the Starship spacecraft, from Starbase. These flight tests successfully demonstrated an unprecedented approach to controlled flight, and helped validate the vehicle's design. The tests have proved that Starship can fly through the subsonic phase (relating to flying at speeds less than that of sound) of entry, or atmospheric entry, before re-lighting its engines and flipping itself to a vertical configuration for landing, SpaceX said on its website.
SpaceX has also conducted several tests of Starship's first stage, or the Super Heavy rocket. These tests include the increasingly complex static fires that led to a full-duration 31-Raptor engine test in February 2023. With this test, SpaceX set a record for the largest number of simultaneous rocket engine ignitions in history.
The launch and catch tower is 146 metres tall, and is designed to support vehicle integration, launch and catch of the Super Heavy rocket, which is also the booster of the Starship system. However, SpaceX will not attempt a vertical landing of Starship or a catch of the Super Heavy booster for the first orbital flight test.
Timeline of the flight test
About 55 seconds after launch, peak mechanical stress on the rocket will be achieved. This is called Max Q. It is the moment when the highest mechanical stress on the Super Heavy booster is achieved.
The booster's main engine cut-off will take place two minutes and 49 seconds after launch.
The stage separation will take place three seconds after the main engine cut-off. Five seconds after stage separation, Starship will ignite.
The booster boostback burn, or the manoeuvre that redirects a rocket stage towards Earth, will start at three minutes and 11 seconds after launch, and shut down 55 seconds later.
The booster will be transonic, or reach speeds close to the speed of sound, seven minutes and 32 seconds after launch.
The booster landing burn will start at seven minutes and 40 seconds after liftoff, and shut down 23 seconds after that.
The Starship engine will cut off at nine minutes and 20 seconds after launch. Starship will re-enter Earth's atmosphere at one hour, 17 minutes and 21 seconds after liftoff.
Starship will be in a transonic stage one hour, 28 minutes and 43 seconds after liftoff. One-and-a-half hours after liftoff, Starship will splash down
All about the Starship system
The Starship system represents a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry both crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond, and will be the world's most powerful launch vehicle ever developed, SpaceX says on its website.
The Starship system has a height of 120 metres, a diameter of 9 metres, and a payload capacity of 100 to 150 metric tonnes. It is capable of carrying up to 150 metric tonnes fully reusable and 250 metric tonnes expendable, which means that while it can carry an extra weight of 250 tonnes, that portion can be used only once, and will subsequently be destroyed.
The fully reusable spacecraft and second stage of the Starship system is called Starship, which has an integrated payload section and is capable of carrying crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond.
Starship can also carry out point-to-point transport on Earth, and enable travel to any region in the world in one hour or less.
Starship has a height of 50 metres, a diameter of nine metres, and a propellant capacity of 1,200 tonnes.
The first stage, or booster of the Starship launch system is called Super Heavy. It is fully reusable, will be powered by 33 Raptor engines using sub-cooled liquid methane and liquid oxygen, and will re-enter Earth's atmosphere to land back at the launch site. Sub-cooled propellants are those which have been cooled to a temperature below their boiling point.
Super Heavy has a height of 69 metres, a diameter of nine metres, and a propellant capacity of 3,400 tonnes.
The Raptor engines which will power the Starship system are reusable methane-oxygen staged-combustion engines. The Raptor Engine has twice the thrust of the Falcon 9 Merlin engine. A total of six engines, which include three Raptor engines, and three Raptor Vacuum (RVac) engines, will power the Starship spacecraft.
RVac engines are designed for use in the vacuum of space.
As many as 33 Raptor engines, with 13 in the centre of Super Heavy, and the remaining 20 around the perimeter of its aft end will power the booster.
Each Raptor engine has a diameter of 1.3 metres, and a height of 3.1 metres.
According to SpaceX, the Starship system is the most powerful launch system ever developed, and will be able to carry up to 100 people on long-duration, interplanetary flights. The Starship system will also enable satellite delivery and the development of a Moon base.