In the afternoon, SpaceX will try to launch Starship into orbit for the second time – last time (April 17) the test of the 120-meter system in flight was prevented by the problem of freezing of one of the pressure injection valves in the first stage oxygen as one of the fuel components is cooled to extremely low temperatures. A live broadcast is, of course, planned, so we kindly invite everyone to witness this historic event, which will potentially be the beginning of a new era of space exploration.

Updated [16:39]: As a result, there is a successful launch (several engines from 33 failed one after the other, but this did not prevent altitude gain) – the rocket successfully broke away from the launch pad, passed the moment of maximum aerodynamic resistance Max-Q and almost reached the stage of separation of the stages. Unfortunately, this did not happen – in the third minute, the Starship began to circle uncontrollably in the upper layers of the atmosphere and, in the end, was blown up by the team from the control center. The stream showed an explosion at the bottom of the first stage with the engines at 29 seconds after launch, several more flashes, and then a large leak of liquid oxygen at 55 seconds. During the launch, the site was seriously damaged and it will take some time to restore it.

The moment of detonation of the first and second stages:

In general, the launch turned out to be incredible, as promised by Elon Musk. We are waiting for SpaceX’s assessment and details. Elon Musk said that the next launch is expected in a few months.

Congrats @SpaceX team on exciting test launch of Starship!

It turned out that a lot for the next test drive in a few months. pic.twitter.com/gswdFut1dK

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 20, 2023

Text to be updated

Where to watch

The broadcast of Alpha Centauri (in Ukrainian) will begin at 3:30 p.m

SpaceX’s official broadcast (in English) will begin at 3:45 p.m

The NASASpaceflight broadcast (in English) is now live

The main goal is to test the take-off systems and not blow up the launch pad. According to the plan, the flight will last one and a half hours: the Super Heavy accelerator after completion of work should be brought into the Gulf of Mexico ~32 km from the launch site, and the Starship will reach space (approximately 250 kilometers), but will not enter a stable orbit – it will complete almost full . circle around the planet, will re-enter the atmosphere, slow down the engines and be brought to 100 km from the island of Kauai, which is part of the Hawaiian archipelago.

If the first orbital flight of the Starship is successful, SpaceX will receive a new generation rocket with a record payload (up to 150 tons per orbit in a fully reusable configuration).

All details about Starship, today’s launch and prospects – in our previous article.

Update: Starship is not going into orbit today – SpaceX has postponed the launch to April 20 due to a problem with first stage pressurization

• Starship and Super Heavy are promising reusable super-heavy rockets and spacecraft under development by SpaceX since at least 2016 to replace the current family of Falcon rockets and Dragon spacecraft and are designed to deliver cargo and people to Earth orbit, the Moon, and Mars.
• After commissioning, the Super Heavy+Starship system will be the most powerful in the history of space exploration. The rocket will be able to deliver a cargo weighing up to 150 tons in a fully reusable configuration to low Earth orbit – with the return of both parts (the 70-meter Super Heavy and the 50-meter Starship) to Earth, as well as the possibility of docking and refueling in orbit.
• SpaceX continues to develop under contract to NASA the Starship variant for the Artemis lunar program, which involves a manned flight and landing on the Moon. At the end of 2022, NASA selected SpaceX Starship for the second landing of a crew on the moon under the “Artemis” program – it is not expected before 2027.
• Also, SpaceX plans to use Starship to launch the new generation of Internet satellites Starlink V2.0 (if Jeff Bezos doesn’t interfere). This should be Starship’s first commercial launch, but there is no timeline yet (they will depend on how the first test launch goes). In addition, SpaceX planned to send a tourist delegation led by a Japanese billionaire on a Starship to the Moon in 2023 (Mission DearMoon). Another Starship tourism mission is part of the Polaris program, but there are no details or even an approximate timeline yet.