SpaceX is gearing as much as launch its subsequent Starship take a look at flight, a mission that may try a second catch of the world’s largest rocket on Tuesday (Nov. 19). However in the event you’re hoping to look at the launch stay on-line, you may have to know when to tune in.
At present, SpaceX’s Starship Flight 6 take a look at flight is scheduled to launch no sooner than Tuesday, Nov. 19, at 5 p.m. EST (2100 GMT) from the corporate’s Starbase web site in South Texas, close to Boca Chica Seashore. This can be SpaceX’s sixth take a look at flight of a Starship spacecraft and its Tremendous Heavy booster, in addition to the second try and catch the large Tremendous Heavy after a stunning launch and rocket catch final month.
You’ll be able to watch the launch stay on House.com, courtesy of SpaceX, in a livestream that may doubtless start about half-hour earlier than launch time. Comply with our Starship stay updates for extra mission milestones.
What time is SpaceX’s Starship Flight 6 take a look at launch?
As of press time, the Starship Flight 6 take a look at is scheduled to launch at 5 p.m. EST (2100 GMT), or 4 p.m. CST from SpaceX’s Starbase facility close to Boca Chica Seashore in South Texas. SpaceX has a 30-minute window through which to launch the Flight 5 mission. Which means that Starship Flight 6 might raise off someday between 5 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. EST (2130 GMT).
“The subsequent Starship flight take a look at goals to broaden the envelope on ship and booster capabilities and get nearer to bringing reuse of the complete system on-line.,” SpaceX wrote in a mission overview.
SpaceX’s Starship and Tremendous Heavy booster stand practically 400 ft tall (122 meters) when totally assembled, making it the world’s tallest rocket. The primary stage’s 33 Raptor engines and 6 others on the Starship higher stage additionally make it the world’s strongest launcher.
The primary Starship to achieve house was the Flight 3 take a look at car, which launched on March 14. Flight 4, on June 6, was an entire success, with each Tremendous Heavy and Starship touchdown of their respective splashdown zones.
SpaceX made a grander demonstration on Oct. 13 with Flight 5. That mission not solely despatched its Starship into house and landed it within the Indian Ocean but additionally returned its Tremendous Heavy booster to Earth in a profitable catch by the “Mechazilla” gantry arms on Starbase’s launch tower.
The sixth Starship take a look at flight goals to duplicate SpaceX’s Flight 5 success, in addition to take a look at new programs, the corporate stated in a mission overview.
“Targets embody the booster as soon as once more returning to the launch web site for catch, reigniting a ship Raptor engine whereas in house, and testing a collection of warmth defend experiments and maneuvering adjustments for ship reentry and descent over the Indian Ocean,” SpaceX wrote. “{Hardware} upgrades for this flight add further redundancy to booster propulsion programs, improve structural energy at key areas, and shorten the timeline to dump propellants from the booster following a profitable catch. Mission designers additionally up to date software program controls and commit standards for the booster’s launch and return.”
SpaceX is designing its Starship and Tremendous Heavy rockets to be a completely reusable launch system. NASA has picked Starship to land its Artemis 3 astronauts on the moon by 2026, with SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk stating that the corporate will attempt to launch a Starship to Mars as early as that yr.
Associated: Learn our SpaceX Starship and Tremendous Heavy information for an in depth look
Can I watch the SpaceX’s Starship Flight 6 launch?
Sure, it is possible for you to to look at SpaceX’s Starship Flight 6 take a look at launch on-line. As with previous Starship launches, there are a number of livestreams you’ll comply with to see the launch, together with on House.com.
SpaceX’s official launch livestream could be discovered on the corporate’s X account (previously Twitter), in addition to its Flight 6 mission page, beginning half-hour earlier than liftoff at about 4:30p.m. EST (2030 GMT). House.com’s VideoFromSpace YouTube channel will simulcast SpaceX’s official webcast, and it’ll seem on this web page and on the prime of our homepage. This timing might change if SpaceX adjustments the launch time.
The NASASpaceflight.com YouTube channel, in addition to On a regular basis Astronaut, are some examples of different websites that may supply stay views of SpaceX’s Starship actions at Starbase and different areas forward of the launch. NASASpaceflight.com, particularly, will doubtless characteristic stay views through the fueling processes and early prelaunch checks earlier than SpaceX’s webcast begins.
If you’ll be able to drive to Starbase, you’ll be able to attempt to watch the launch stay in particular person, however do bear in mind that SpaceX does not have an official viewing web site. Nonetheless, the Starship pad is seen from a number of public seashores within the surrounding space.
At South Padre Island, for instance, you’ll find good views and a transparent line of sight of SpaceX’s Starship pad from Isla Blanca Park and Cameron County Amphitheater. This spot is the place I watched SpaceX’s Starship Flight 1 from in April 2023. The shoreline of close by Port Isabel may also be a great viewing zone for launches. Site visitors could be heavy into each websites, so arriving early is a good suggestion. Do not forget to pack a folding chair, snacks, water, bug spray and different necessities.
How lengthy is SpaceX’s Starship Flight 6?
SpaceX’s Flight 6 Starship take a look at flight ought to final simply over an hour, based mostly on its present 65-minute flight plan. It’s anticipated to fly on an analogous trajectory to Flight 5, which launched a Starship car on a path that entered house, coasted for a interval, after which reentered over the Indian Ocean, west of Australia.
“The returning booster will decelerate from supersonic speeds, leading to audible sonic booms within the space across the touchdown zone ,” SpaceX wrote in its mission overview. “Starship’s higher stage will fly the identical suborbital trajectory because the earlier flight take a look at, with splashdown focused within the Indian Ocean. An extra goal for this flight can be making an attempt an in-space burn utilizing a single Raptor engine, additional demonstrating the capabilities required to conduct a ship deorbit burn previous to orbital missions..”
Whereas SpaceX hopes to get well the Tremendous Heavy booster by catching it in large metallic “chopsticks” on the launch tower, the corporate might wave off the try if any issue just isn’t excellent. If any standards aren’t met, SpaceX might as an alternative decide to soft-land the rocket within the Gulf of Mexico, because it did on Flight 4.
“We settle for no compromises relating to guaranteeing the security of the general public and our crew, and the return will solely happen if circumstances are proper,” SpaceX wrote.
| TIME (Hr:Min:Sec) | EVENT | Header Cell – Column 2 |
|---|---|---|
| T-1:15:00 | Flight director ballot for gasoline loading | Row 0 – Cell 2 |
| T-0:49:50 | Starship liquid methane loading begins | Row 1 – Cell 2 |
| T-0:49:21 | Starship liquid oxygen loading begins | Row 2 – Cell 2 |
| T-0:41:15 | Tremendous Heavy liquid methane loading begins | Row 3 – Cell 2 |
| T-0:35:39 | Tremendous Heavy liquid oxygen loading begins | Row 4 – Cell 2 |
| T-00:19:40 | Tremendous Heavy Raptor engine chilldown | Row 5 – Cell 2 |
| T-00:3:20 | Starship fueling full | Row 6 – Cell 2 |
| T-00:2:50 | Tremendous Heavy fueling full | Row 7 – Cell 2 |
| T-00:0:30 | Flight Director GO for launch | Row 8 – Cell 2 |
| T-00:00:10 | Flame deflector activation | Row 9 – Cell 2 |
| T-00:00:03 | Raptor ignition sequence startup | Row 10 – Cell 2 |
| T-00:00:00 | Liftoff (“Pleasure Assured,” SpaceX says) | Row 11 – Cell 2 |
| TIME (Hr:Min:Sec) | FLIGHT EVENT | Header Cell – Column 2 |
|---|---|---|
| T+00:02 | Liftoff | Row 0 – Cell 2 |
| T+01:02 | Starship/Tremendous Heavy attain Max Q | Row 1 – Cell 2 |
| T+02:32 | Tremendous Heavy primary engine cutoff | Row 2 – Cell 2 |
| T+02:39 | Sizzling-staging separation/Starship Raptor engine ignition | Row 3 – Cell 2 |
| T+02:44 | Tremendous Heavy boostback burn startup | Row 4 – Cell 2 |
| T+03:38 | Tremendous Heavy boostback burn engine shutdown | Row 5 – Cell 2 |
| T+03:43 | Sizzling-stage jettison | Row 6 – Cell 2 |
| T+06:25 | Tremendous Heavy is transonic | Row 7 – Cell 2 |
| T+06:38 | Tremendous Heavy touchdown burn startup | Row 8 – Cell 2 |
| T+07:00 | Tremendous Heavy touchdown burn shutdown anc catch strive | Row 9 – Cell 2 |
| T+08:27 | Starship engine cutoff | Row 10 – Cell 2 |
| T+00:37:46 | Starship engine relight demonstration | Row 11 – Cell 2 |
| T+00:47:13 | Starship reentry | Row 12 – Cell 2 |
| T+01:02:06 | Starship transonic | Row 13 – Cell 2 |
| T+1:03:12 | Starship is subsonic | Row 14 – Cell 2 |
| T+1:04:56 | Touchdown flip | Row 15 – Cell 2 |
| T+1:05:01 | Touchdown burn | Row 16 – Cell 2 |
| T+1:05:24 | “An thrilling touchdown!” SpaceX says. | Row 17 – Cell 2 |
What if Starship cannot launch on Tuesday?
If SpaceX is unable to launch Starship Flight 6 on Nov. 19, the corporate could possibly strive once more 24 hours in a while Nov. 20.
Officers with Cameron County, the area of South Texas that features SpaceX’s Starbase facility, have issued a street and seaside closure alert for Boca Chica Seashore for launch day, with an “various day” on Nov. 20. These closures run from from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. native time for each days, suggesting that SpaceX could have a minimum of two alternatives to launch Flight 6 subsequent week.
Nonetheless, any backup launch try does rely on how far SpaceX reaches in its Starship and Tremendous Heavy fueling course of throughout a launch countdown. The corporate has stated prior to now that it takes a number of days to restock the greater than 10 million kilos of super-cold liquid methane and liquid oxygen propellant wanted for launch.
“As is the case with all developmental testing, the schedule is dynamic and prone to change, so you’ll want to verify in right here and keep tuned to our X account for updates,” SpaceX wrote in a Flight 6 mission overview.
Go to House.com on Nov. 19 for full protection of SpaceX’s Starship Flight 5 launch take a look at.
Editor’s observe: This story was up to date at 1:15 a.m. ET on Nov. 15 with the brand new goal launch date of Nov. 19. The earlier date was Nov. 18.
