Elon Musk's SpaceX preps fourth Starship flight test in a busy week for the space industry

By James Rogers

SpaceX is making final preparations for the latest Starship test flight

In a busy week for the space industry, SpaceX is making final preparations for the fourth flight test of its Starship spacecraft, with liftoff scheduled for early Thursday.

The 120-minute launch window for the uncrewed mission opens at 8 a.m. Eastern time, according to the private space company. Starship is set to launch atop a SpaceX Super Heavy rocket at the company's Starbase facility near Boca Chica, Texas.

SpaceX launched the third flight test of its Starship and Super Heavy rocket in March. The uncrewed Starship successfully achieved orbital insertion, coasted into space and re-entered Earth's atmosphere before SpaceX lost contact with the spacecraft.

Related: Elon Musk denies report SpaceX may sell some of its shares amid $200 billion valuation

The test marked an important milestone for SpaceX. In April 2023, SpaceX's first test launch near Boca Chica ended when the rocket exploded just minutes into its flight. Starship launched its second flight test in November, and it, too, exploded over the Gulf of Mexico.

The largest rocket ever built, Starship provides more than twice the thrust of the Saturn V rockets that took NASA astronauts to the moon. Together, Starship and the Super Heavy rocket are 396 feet high, taller than the Statue of Liberty or NASA's Saturn V rocket.

Starship is designed to play a key role in returning humans to the moon as part of NASA's Artemis program, as well as in future Mars exploration. The spacecraft and rocket - collectively referred to as "Starship" and designed to carry both crew and cargo - can carry up to 150 metric tons fully reusable and 250 metric tons expendable, according to SpaceX.

Related: For Elon Musk and SpaceX, 'the third time's the charm' for Starship flight test

On Wednesday SpaceX rival Boeing Co.'s (BA) Starliner spacecraft launched on its historic first crewed flight after two previous attempts were scrubbed. The spacecraft lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's Space Launch Complex 41 atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket and is carrying NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to the International Space Station.

SpaceX is also working closely with NASA's Commercial Crew Program. The company's Crew Dragon spacecraft has flown several crewed missions to the International Space Station atop a Falcon 9 rocket. The Crew-8 mission, which launched March 3, 2024, is SpaceX's eighth crew-rotation mission and its ninth flight with astronauts, including the Demo-2 mission in May 2020.

Wednesday's Starliner launch marks the first time that NASA has three crewed vehicles in orbit: Starliner, Crew Dragon and the ISS.

Related: Boeing's Starliner launches on historic first crewed flight

Earlier this week SpaceX launched 20 Starlink satellites, including 13 with direct-to-cell capabilities, atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The launch marked the 20th flight for the booster supporting the mission.

It's not just SpaceX and Boeing that are busy with launches this week. Space-tourism company Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. (SPCE) is preparing for the final flight of its Unity spacecraft. Virgin Galactic is targeting a launch window that opens June 8 for its Galactic 07 mission. The mission will be the last flight for the company's Unity spacecraft before it halts commercial operations to develop its new Delta-class spacecraft.

-James Rogers

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06-05-24 1517ET

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