Latest / Elon Musk Podcast / SpaceX Advances Toward Third Starship Test Flight Amid Rigorous Testing and Regulatory Approval

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SpaceX Advances Toward Third Starship Test Flight Amid Rigorous Testing and Regulatory Approval · Elon Musk Podcast

• 0:01
  Hey everybody, welcome back to the Elon Musk Podcast.
• 0:05
  This is a show where we discuss the critical Crossroads, The
• 0:08
  Shape, SpaceX, Tesla X, The Boring Company, and Neuralink,
• 0:13
  and I'm your host, Will Walden. SpaceX is actively preparing for
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  the third flight of its colossal Starship rocket following the
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  completion of a static fire test of Ship 28 in the positioning of
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  Booster 10 at the Starbase launch site in South Texas.
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  Now this progress comes just one month after the second flight of
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  Starship. With the upcoming test
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  potentially including an all in space propellant transfer and a
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  controlled landing in the ocean near Hawaii A SpaceX conducted a
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  successful static fire test of Ship 28 six Raptor engines
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  showing no evident damage to the rocket or the ground equipment.
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  Now concurrently, Booster 10 was moved to the launchpad and
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  conducted fueling and a possible ground systems problem.
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  The test was scrubbed. Now following these tests,
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  SpaceX plans to stack the Starship upper stage.
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  A top Booster 10 nearing completion of the launch vehicle
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  for the integrated flight Test 3 and the third Starship flight
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  aims to advance its flight profile, including a controlled
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  ocean landing and possibly an in space propellant transfer,
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  though this remains unconfirmed now.
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  The second Starship launch in November demonstrated marked
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  improvements over the first attempt, notably in engine
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  reliability in the execution of a complex hot staging maneuver.
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  Kathy Leaders, Spacex's general manager for the Starship launch
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  site, hinted at targeting the first quarter of the next year
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  for the third test flight, aligning with the company's
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  ambitious schedule. And post second flight, SpaceX
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  has made minimal hardware modifications, suggesting
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  software related issues. Regulatory approval from the FAA
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  is still pending following their designation of the second flight
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  as a mishap, and Ship 28 and Booster Ten were swiftly
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  transferred to the launch site following the second flight,
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  with Ship 28 undergoing a series of tests, including a spin prime
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  test. Spacex's dismantling of
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  suborbital Pad A to build a second launch tower suggests a
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  shift in testing locations, potentially centralizing engine
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  tests at the Massey's facility. Primarily, tests with Booster 10
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  involve partial fueling followed by a lengthy hold and eventual
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  safety pressurization, indicating ongoing diagnostic
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  processes. No word on if the ground systems
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  were affected during this testing.
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  At SpaceX is waiting for FAA approval for the third flight,
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  having conducted the six engine fire test to have shipped 28 at
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  the Starbase facility, and the Super heavy flight intends to
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  reach orbit and splash down near Hawaii.
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  With NASA already planning to use a modified Starship for
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  lunar landings and potential crude missions to Mars, recent
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  inspections by Elon Musk reveal the Starship Launchpad's
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  robustness, requiring no refurbishment post launch, a
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  significant improvement from the first Test flight's pad
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  destruction. Despite 2 explosions in the
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  second flight, the Starship's upper stage achieved separation
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  and Space Flight, albeit not reaching orbit, and the
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  launchpad remained intact, signaling readiness for future
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  attempts. Now, NASA's commitment to using
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  Starship for the Artemis 3 lunar mission hinges on successful
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  orbital tests in flight refueling and a lunar landing
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  test. With SpaceX transitioning from
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  Texas tests to operational flights from Kennedy Space
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  Center or KSC, SpaceX is innovating with the Megazilla
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  Launch integration tower and the Twin Chopsticks arms at both
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  Texas and KSC sites, aiming for quick turn around and booster
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  landing capabilities sometime in the future.
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  And SpaceX is constructing a second crew capable launch tower
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  at Cape Canaveral, replicating Texas pad improvements with NASA
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  and the FAA closely monitoring and regulating starships
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  development for future commercial launches.
• 4:00
  Hey, thank you so much for listening today.
• 4:01
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  to Atreoncom, Stage Zero, and please take care of yourselves
• 4:28
  and each other and I'll see you tomorrow.