TNews – SpaceX’s spacecraft, Starship, appears poised for another liftoff in the near future. SpaceX’s founder and CEO, Elon Musk, mentioned that the third Starship launch is scheduled within 3-4 weeks leading up to Christmas. Musk conveyed this information via his official Twitter account, as reported by Bisnis.com on Tuesday, November 21, 2023. However, the launch plan is still surrounded by uncertainty as, up to this point, SpaceX has not obtained clearance from the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
This is due to the FAA still conducting oversight regarding the investigation into several errors that occurred during the second test launch of Starship on November 18, 2023.
In that mission, Musk initially aimed to fly Starship on a journey around the Earth, landing in the Pacific Ocean (near Hawaii) 90 minutes after launch. However, the flight concluded approximately 8 minutes later due to an explosion. Not only that, the Super Heavy section of Starship, scheduled to land in the Gulf of Mexico about 7 minutes after liftoff, also exploded.
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Nevertheless, the second test showed improvement compared to the first. In the April 20, 2023 test, Starship failed to pass the stage of separating its components. The inaugural flight ended only 4 minutes after launch following a self-destruct command. Shortly after the April flight, Musk stated that SpaceX was ready to relaunch Starship within a timeframe of 6 to 8 weeks.
However, FAA only granted launch clearance on November 15, 2023, after completing investigations into the previous mission’s explosion, safety reviews, and assessments of its environmental impact.
The uncertainty surrounding the clearance for the third Starship launch before Christmas adds complexity to the situation. The fundamental question is whether SpaceX can ensure the safety and continuity of this mission. The explosion during the second test launch is a primary concern. While improvements have been acknowledged, are they sufficient to convince the FAA and the public that the risk of failure has been minimized?
