STARBASE, TEXAS – Watch SpaceX‘ live coverage of the second attempt of the first flight test of a fully integrated Starship and Super Heavy rocket from Starbase in Texas, after the first attempt was scrubbed due to to an issue with the pressurization system in the Super Heavy booster. The Starship SN24 spacecraft is a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry both crew and cargo to Earth orbit, help humanity return to the Moon and travel to Mars and beyond. SpaceX is targeting today April 20, 2022, for the first flight test of a fully integrated Starship and Super Heavy rocket from Starbase in Texas. The 62 minute launch window opens at 8:28 a.m. CT and closes at 9:30 a.m. CT.

Starship

The Starship SN24 spacecraft is a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry both crew and cargo to Earth orbit, help humanity return to the Moon and travel to Mars and beyond.

According to SpaceX, with a test such as this, success is measured by how much there can be learned, which will inform and improve the probability of success in the future as SpaceX rapidly advances development of Starship.

Starship Flight Tests

To date, the SpaceX team has completed multiple sub-orbital flight tests of Starship’s upper stage from Starbase, successfully demonstrating an unprecedented approach to controlled flight. These flight tests helped validate the vehicle’s design, proving Starship can fly through the subsonic phase of entry before re-lighting its engines and flipping itself to a vertical configuration for landing.

In addition to the testing of Starship’s upper stage, the team has conducted numerous tests of the Super Heavy rocket, which include the increasingly complex static fires that led to a full-duration 31 Raptor engine test – the largest number of simultaneous rocket engine ignitions in history.

Launch and Catch Tower

The team has also constructed the world’s tallest rocket launch and catch tower. At 146 meters, or nearly 500 feet tall, the launch and catch tower is designed to support vehicle integration, launch, and catch of the Super Heavy rocket booster.

For the first flight test, the team will not attempt a vertical landing of Starship or a catch of the Super Heavy booster.

Starbase

Starbase, formerly known as SpaceX South Texas Launch Site and also known as Launch Base Boca Chica, is a privately owned launch site and rocket factory under construction near Boca Chica, Cameron County, Texas. It is the location where the Starship rockets of the American aerospace company SpaceX are built, tested and broken down.

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Head image: SpaceX on YouTube