SpaceX considers its first Starship launch test at high altitude a success despite the explosion, but the FAA was apparently not amused. It said SpaceX had violated the terms of its operating license, prompting an investigation and delaying the next test originally scheduled for Jan. 28. However, it appears that the two parties have clashed, as SpaceX has announced that it will try out its second Starship test today, February 2nd.
Starship serial number 9 (SN9) will attempt to climb an altitude of 10 km (32,000 feet) before moving on to its head-dropping propellant tanks. It will then reorient itself and start a controlled aerodynamic descent again, moving the two forward and two tailgates with the flight computer on board. Closer to the ground, the SN9’s bird of prey engines will be re-lit, as SN9 tries another lander before (hopefully) hitting the landing strip next to the launcher.
Here will be a live feed of the flight test available here which will start a few minutes before kick-off. Given the dynamic schedule of development tests, keep an eye on our social media channels for updates as we move on to SpaceX’s second high-flying flight test from Starship!
This is much like SN8 did successfully, apart from the ‘touch’ section. These maneuvers, “combined with space refill, are critical to landing Starship at destinations across the solar system where prepared surfaces or runways do not exist, and to returning to Earth,” SpaceX wrote.
It is not clear what SpaceX did wrong that violated its license. At the time, the FAA said that it would not jeopardize its responsibility to protect public safety, adding that we would only approve the amendment once we were satisfied that SpaceX had taken the necessary steps to comply with regulatory requirements. . ‘
Elon Musk, SpaceX boss, said on Twitter that the “FAA space division has a fundamentally broken regulatory structure” and that “below [their] rules, humanity will never go to Mars. In reality, the FAA has recently streamlined its commercial space launch regulations, but the new rules only come into effect early. Meanwhile, Musk recently tweeted that he would be off Twitter for a while.
In any case, the next test could happen today. SpaceX said it would make a live import of the test flight available on its website a few minutes before the lifting, and advises you to stay ‘informed’ social media channels for updates. ”