SpaceX Starship Full Stack Test Flight Thread | Cleared Tower, Thru MaxQ, then RUD

Per the almighty fowl... a new thread for the 2nd attempt at the test flight of the SpaceX Starship & Super Heavy Rocket

NASASpaceflight on YouTube - will go live at 12:30 AM CDT

SpaceX on YouTube - will go live at 7:45 AM CDT



Starship is set to launch from the SpaceX production facility in Boca Chica State Park in Boca Chica, Texas... just south of South Padre Island.

It will head in a ESE direction originally over the Gulf of Mexico through the Straits of Florida

The booster will apparently test its booster return sequence for the 1st time during this test as once Booster 7 has brought Starship 24 to space... it will separate and do a boost back burn to head back where it launched from... except SpaceX is not bringing it all the way back.

It will do its hover burn like it would do if it was waiting to be caught by the launch stand "chopsticks" like will happen once it's fully operational... but this time it will attempt to hover over the Gulf before being deposited into the water and all valves opened so it will become a new artificial reef for marine life.

As for Starship... once it reaches space... the plan is to burn its engines to get a near full orbit around the Earth. In terms of altitude... it will have reached space at its apogee but it is not scheduled to attain orbital velocity and thus when the engines are cut... it will begin heading back towards Earth

If it survives the fires of reentry... it will take the belly flop position of the planned landing procedure once it's operational... but will stay in that position until it hits the waters of the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii at its terminal velocity. It is NOT planned to relight its engines and try the flip maneuver which will be part of its landing procedure once operational.

Much like Booster 7 in the Gulf... should Starship 24 survive reaching space and then reentry from space... and the collision of hitting the ocean at its terminal velocity and the potential explosion of the leftover gases mixing upon impact... it will become a new artificial reef for marine life in the Pacific Ocean.

I must stress... this is a first scheduled test flight of a brand new launch vehicle. There could be countdown holds and scrubs (like Monday) along the way... and if the worst happens... you could see a RUD on the launch pad which I would imagine would set back SpaceX years on development of this launch vehicle.

For SpaceX... I would imagine getting through Max-Q in one piece is the major milestone... and if both Booster & Starship hit their planned splashdown zones in one piece... I'm sure it would be a success beyond anyone's wildest dreams.