Loading...
On Wednesday, May 5, Starship serial number 15 (SN15) successfully completed SpaceX’s fifth high-altitude flight test of a Starship prototype from Starbase in TexasSimilar to previous high-altitude flight tests of Starship , SN15 was powered through ascent by three Raptor engines, each shutting down in sequence prior to the vehicle reaching apogee – approximately 10 km in altitude SN15 performed a propellant transition to the internal header tanks, which hold landing propellant, before reorienting itself for reentry and a controlled aerodynamic descentThe Starship prototype descended under active aerodynamic control, accomplished by independent movement of two forward and two aft flaps on the vehicle
All four flaps were actuated by an onboard flight computer to control Starship’s attitude during flight and enabled precise landing at the intended location SN15’s Raptor engines reignited as the vehicle performed the landing flip maneuver immediately before touching down for a nominal landing on the padThese test flights of Starship are all about improving our understanding and development of a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry both crew and cargo on long-duration interplanetary flights, and help humanity return to the Moon, and travel to Mars and beyondCongratulations to the entire SpaceX team on SN15’s successful flight and landing!Approximately 6
5 hours after undocking, Dragon splashed down off the coast of Florida at 2:56 am EDT on Sunday, May 2, completing the spacecraft’s first long-duration operational mission This was also the first nighttime splashdown of a U
S spacecraft with crew on board since Apollo 8’s return in 1968With the success of Eutelsat 36D, SpaceX achieved 11 Falcon 9 launches in a single calendar month for the first time, but the Hawthorne, Calif-headquartered organization intends to push the envelope further with two more missions before Saturday is out
If attained, that will close out March on 13 flights—an average of one mission every 24 days—which is broadly in line with where SpaceX needs to be to achieve its oft-touted goal of up to 144 launches before the year’s endOn Tuesday, March 30, SpaceX launched its fourth high-altitude flight test of Starship from Starbase in Texas Similar to previous high-altitude flight tests, Starship Serial Number 11 (SN11) was powered through ascent by three Raptor engines, each shutting down in sequence prior to the vehicle reaching apogee – approximately 10 km in altitude
SN11 performed a propellant transition to the internal header tanks, which hold landing propellant, before reorienting itself for reentry and a controlled aerodynamic descentShortly after the landing burn started, SN11 experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly Teams will continue to review data and work toward our next flight testTest flights are all about improving our understanding and development of a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry both crew and cargo on long-duration interplanetary flights, and help humanity return to the Moon, and travel to Mars and beyond
Thirty missions flown by 16 boosters within 2024’s first 13 weeks is an impressive achievement, equating to an average of a flight every 29 days By contrast, even in 2023’s record-setting 96-launch year it took SpaceX until the middle of May to reach 30 flights Two years ago, 30 flights were not reached until mid-July of 2022 and only as recently as 2021 were more than 30 missions attained across an entire calendar year
More recently, in September of 2022 Airbus signed contracts with the Ministries of Defence of both the Czech Republic and the Netherlands to facilitate satellite communications for a 15-year period The two countries’ armed forces will utilize two and three channels, respectively, of Eutelsat 36D’s military hosted payloadAirbus was selected by Paris, France-headquartered Eutelsat in March 2021 to build Eutelsat 36D, which it describes as “a new generation, multi-mission geostationary telecommunications satellite” Based upon the Eurostar Neo “bus”, the satellite will remain operational in geostationary orbit for at least 15 years and “combines increased payload capacity and more efficient power and thermal control systems with reduced production time and optimized costs, as part of a fully digitalized production process”
“Weather conditions will be very favorable for Saturday evening’s launch attempt,” noted the 45th Weather Squadron at Patrick Space Force Base in an update “Cool and dry air will continue to filter in today as a strong area of high pressure slides in from the west” All told, there were “no significant weather concerns” and a negligible risk of violating the Thick Cloud Layers RuleLike with Flight 5, SpaceX said it will abort a booster catch attempt in the event that “distinct vehicle and pad criteria” are not met prior to making the attempt
In that scenario, they would perform a powered descent over the Gulf of Mexico The Flight 6 flight director will be in charge of making the final callIncluding spares, SpaceX plans to deploy more than 1,500 Starlink satellites to begin providing low-latency Internet service around the world Around 720 satellites are required to begin initial Internet services in high latitude regions, including Canada and the northern United States
As if the flight test was not exciting enough, SN10 experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly shortly after landing All in all a great day for the Starship teams – these test flights are all about improving our understanding and development of a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry both crew and cargo on long-duration interplanetary flights, and help humanity return to the Moon, and travel to Mars and beyondSimilar to the high-altitude flight tests of Starship SN8 and SN9 , SN10 was powered through ascent by three Raptor engines, each shutting down in sequence prior to the vehicle reaching apogee – approximately 10 km in altitude SN10 performed a propellant transition to the internal header tanks, which hold landing propellant, before reorienting itself for reentry and a controlled aerodynamic descent
Dragon autonomously undocked from the International Space Station at 8:35 pm EDT on Saturday, May 1 The spacecraft performed a series of departure burns to move away from the orbiting laboratory
Including spares, SpaceX plans to deploy more than 1,500 Starlink satellites to begin providing low-latency Internet service around the world. Around 720 satellites are required to begin initial Internet services in high latitude regions, including Canada and the northern United States.As if the flight test was not exciting enough, SN10 experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly shortly after landing. All in all a great day for the Starship teams – these test flights are all about improving our understanding and development of a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry both crew and cargo on long-duration interplanetary flights, and help humanity return to the Moon, and travel to Mars and beyond.Similar to the high-altitude flight tests of Starship SN8 and SN9 , SN10 was powered through ascent by three Raptor engines, each shutting down in sequence prior to the vehicle reaching apogee – approximately 10 km in altitude. SN10 performed a propellant transition to the internal header tanks, which hold landing propellant, before reorienting itself for reentry and a controlled aerodynamic descent.Dragon autonomously undocked from the International Space Station at 8:35 p.m. EDT on Saturday, May 1. The spacecraft performed a series of departure burns to move away from the orbiting laboratory. Before reentry, Dragon jettisoned its trunk to reduce weight and mass to help save propellant for the deorbit burn. The spacecraft then re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere and deployed its two drogue and four main parachutes in preparation for the soft water landing.
