July 17, 19:33

SpaceX sets new launch date for Starship after flight failure

SpaceX was unable to send the Starship rocket into space for the thirteenth time this Thursday (16th). Minutes after the incident, Elon Musk, owner of SpaceX, communicated via X that the launch interruption occurred because some of the engines did not automatically ignite.

Updates and Next Attempt

Musk informed that two Raptor engines would be replaced and indicated that the highest probability for the next launch would be early next week. Later, on Friday (17th), SpaceX officially confirmed on its website that it will make a new attempt on Monday (20th). The launch window is scheduled to begin at 7:45 PM Brasília time and will last one hour and thirty minutes.

This new Starship test flight will maintain similar objectives to the previous mission, which marked the debut of the V3 versions of the Starship and Super Heavy vehicles. However, this time, the mission will include the transport, for the first time, of new generation Starlink V3 satellites. The primary purpose of the Super Heavy booster is to successfully complete all initial phases of the flight, covering launch, ascent, stage separation, boostback burn, and landing burn in an offshore area located in the Gulf of Mexico.

To ensure this success, the company implemented several modifications to both hardware and software, aiming to correct the issues detected during the previous test.

Technical Corrections Implemented

SpaceX reported that during the stage separation in flight 12, small discrepancies in the ignition of the Starship engines caused an misalignment of approximately 90 degrees in the Super Heavy's rotation maneuver. To prevent recurrence, the engine ignition sequence was adjusted to be more resilient to timing variations, allowing the rotation to occur in the desired direction with greater safety. This change also aims to improve the overall system performance.

Additionally, in flight 12, after separation and the rotation maneuver, the Super Heavy initiated the boostback burn, but five of its 33 engines failed during the relight attempt, forcing the premature termination of the maneuver. For the renewed flight, the booster received hardware modifications focused on increasing engine relight reliability, along with updates to alert and abort systems to better reflect the conditions of a flight with multiple engines operating simultaneously.

As for the Starship upper stage, it has three main goals: placing 20 Starlink V3 satellites into suborbital orbit, performing a single Raptor engine relight in space, and executing another controlled atmospheric reentry, followed by descent and splashdown in the Indian Ocean.

SpaceX also made several changes to the Starship propulsion system to resolve the engine failure that occurred in the previous flight. About 40 seconds after stage separation in the past mission, the vehicle lost one of its three Raptor engines optimized for vacuum. Even with this failure, the vehicle demonstrated its ability to proceed with the mission with one inoperative engine and reached the planned suborbital trajectory. The company assures that numerous operational and hardware adaptations have been made to address the interconnected causes of this problem, with additional reliability improvements expected for future Raptor engine iterations.

Debut of Starlink V3 Satellites

For the first time, Starship will carry Starlink V3 satellites, designed to substantially expand the network capacity and increase the speed available to users. In this initial test, the spacecraft should release 20 satellites. After separation, these will begin deploying their solar panels and antennas, seeking to establish communication with the Starlink constellation through high-capacity lasers. The satellites will remain in the same suborbital trajectory as Starship and are expected to be destroyed during atmospheric reentry, approximately twenty minutes after being released.

Thermal Shield Inspection

Six of the satellites were equipped with cameras capable of inspecting the Starship's thermal shield during the flight and transmitting these images to ground teams. The goal is to continue evaluating methods for analyzing the thermal shield conditions for future missions where Starship will return to the launch site. As part of this experiment, several panels of the vehicle's thermal coating were painted white to simulate missing parts and serve as targets for the cameras.

New Experiments on Thermal Shield

In addition to the inspections conducted by the satellites, the mission will test a series of advancements and experiments related to the Starship's thermal shield, continuing the development of a fully reusable vehicle with rapid readiness for new flights. Among the planned tests is the installation of multiple thermal tiles on the metallic surface of the vehicle's rear flaps, as well as the use of modified tiles and new fastening mechanisms in the area of the thermal shield covering the tail. The objective is to collect in-flight data on different fastening methods. Starship will also employ tiles equipped with load sensors to measure the stresses supported by the thermal shield during ascent. In this mission, the vehicle will face a dynamic pressure higher than in previous flights, which will intensify the stress on the tile fastenings for superior payload capacity to orbit.

olhardigital.com.brJuly 13, 18:41

Starship to have new flight scheduled; details of changes and new Starlink V3 satellites

SpaceX has received authorization from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to conduct another test with Starship, following a detailed investigation into the failure that occurred in the Super Heavy booster during the flight in May.

Changes after the investigation

This new launch will be the second of the V3 version of the rocket and will also mark the introduction of the first Starlink V3 satellites, which are essential for expanding the company's space internet network. The event is scheduled for next Thursday, the 16th, with an expected time between 7:45 PM and 9:15 PM, Brasília time.

The project revision was motivated by the failure observed during the 12th flight. In May, the Super Heavy was supposed to simulate a landing in the Gulf of Mexico, but the engines failed to reignite properly after stage separation. According to SpaceX, small discrepancies in engine ignition caused an unwanted 90-degree rotation in the booster.

Technical improvements implemented

After meticulous analysis, the company adjusted the ignition sequence and implemented corrections aimed at greater reliability in reignition. The FAA also identified other contributing factors, such as thermal effects on propulsion system components during the rocket's ascent and inadequate settings in the engine alarm system.

The announced modifications include adjustments to the engine ignition system, enhancements to booster reignition reliability, changes to alert and mission abort protocols, as well as modifications to both hardware and operational procedures.

Highlighting the Starlink V3 satellites

In addition to validating the corrections made to the Super Heavy, the next flight aims to place 20 Starlink V3 satellites into orbit. These satellites are larger and more powerful than previous models. SpaceX reported that they will use high-capacity lasers to connect to the main Starlink constellation and will disintegrate in the atmosphere approximately twenty minutes after launch.

Six of these satellites will be equipped with cameras intended to capture images of the external surface of the Starship, providing crucial data for engineers to analyze the vehicle's behavior throughout the flight.

Starship strategy and future

SpaceX's approach remains firmly anchored in the philosophy of 'fly, fail, correct.' Each launch serves as a source of valuable information to refine the design and bring the company closer to its goal of operating a completely reusable system.

The current expectation is to confirm whether the changes applied after the May test resolved the problem faced by the Super Heavy. Positive performance in this flight will strengthen the company's plans to expand Starlink and prepare for future missions to the Moon and subsequently Mars.

Historical summary of flights

The flight history includes: Flight 1 in April 2023, where Starship exploded attached to Super Heavy due to engine failures; Flight 2 in November 2023, which allowed initial separation but resulted in the booster exploding and the loss of Starship; Flight 3 in March 2024, which achieved a significant advance in about 50 minutes despite being lost before the planned landing; Flight 4 in June 2024, with controlled landing of Starship in the Indian Ocean and Super Heavy in the Gulf of Mexico; Flight 5 in October 2024, where SpaceX captured the Super Heavy on the launch tower and Starship performed a controlled reentry; Flight 6 in November 2024, with controlled booster landing and in-space engine reignition; Flight 7 in January 2025, which ended with the loss of Starship after an explosion; Flight 8 in March 2025, where the upper stage lost stability eight minutes after launch and was destroyed; Flight 9 in May 2025, which marked the first reuse of Super Heavy but had partial experiments compromised by failures; Flight 10 in August 2025, meeting goals such as satellite simulator tests, in-space engine reignition, and controlled reentry; Flight 11 in October 2025, successfully concluding the V2 phase, including controlled landing of Super Heavy and spacecraft reentry; and Flight 12 in May 2026, the first V3 version test, which showed notable advances but suffered a Super Heavy failure upon attempting return because the engines did not reignite correctly after separation.