Starship second integrated flight test, November 18, 2023

[admin]

The second Starship space flight attempt could happen as soon as mid-November:



From the SpaceX flight announcement:

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.

[admin]

The FAA has given license authorization:




SpaceX is currently targeting Saturday, November 18. A two-hour launch window opens at 7:00 a.m. CT:

[admin]

Video of Starship’s second integrated flight test: https://x.com/SpaceX/status/1725852544587727145

Flight summary from SpaceX:

Starship successfully lifted off under the power of all 33 Raptor engines on the Super Heavy Booster and made it through a successful stage separation. The booster experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly after its boostback burn following the successful stage separation while Starship's 6 second stage Raptor engines fired for several minutes as the Ship climbed to an altitude of ~150 kilometers.