SpaceX Starship3

Guys,

I will be watching the third SpaceX Starship launches from Florida! This is big enough news that the launch can be watched on many channels, but I like the commentary in the half hour just before the launch on this one:

Watch Live! SpaceX Starship to launch on 3rd integrated test flight

The expectations for tomorrow’s launch are to propel the upper stage Starship into a near orbital position and speed, but not to go fully orbital.

Typical of earlier SpaceX Starship launches, there will be several engineering changes on this vehicle to correct for difficulties encountered on earlier launches. Their design philosophy is to be prepared to launch quickly and often to discover what works well and what does not. Any failure is seen as an opportunity to discover weaknesses in the design, make very quick corrections and launch again to verify that the problem is fixed.

For example, the last launch revealed that residual liquid Methane fuel and liquid Oxygen sloshed about rather more violently than expected in their nearly empty tanks after the booster stage separates from the second stage Starship. This caused internal plumbing damage and released some Oxygen which caused a fire. Tomorrow's booster will have new anti-slosh baffles in the tanks with several video cameras to asses their performance.

Starship’s upper stage will carry two new design features to prove they can work in space. The first is a demonstration that liquid fuel and oxygen can be moved from one tank to another in zero G. This anticipates future missions in which one Starship refuels another. The second is a test of the large hatch built into the skin of the vehicle to allow Starships to begin deploying SpaceX’s larger, advanced Starlink telecommunication spacecraft on future launches.

The third is that this mission will provide an opportunity to test re-lighting the vehicle’s Raptor engines in zero G. This will be a first. The plan it to flip the Starship 180% at its near orbital altitude and speed and then fire the engines to slow it down for a plunge into the Atlantic Ocean.

 The Starship will be allowed to reenter the atmosphere and end up in the Indian Ocean.

The booster will not be recovered as is planned for routine future flights. The Starship will be reenter the atmosphere and end up in the Indian Ocean.  However, it will do a practice “touch down” in the ocean as if landing. Then when the rocket engines have stopped the vehicle right at wave-top level, the engines will shut down and the vehicle will slowly sink out of sight.

Artist’s rendering of the “touch down” at wave top altitude in the Indian Ocean.

Have fun, Paw, Dad, Robbie, Bob