Editor’s note: SpaceX has not announced webcast details for today’s Starship SN11 test. Above is a video feed on YouTube by NASASpaceflight.com.
SpaceX may try to test fire its latest Starship rocket prototype – then launch – at the company’s South Texas facility on Friday (March 26).
Officials in Cameron County, Texas, which is home to SpaceX’s Starship test site near Boca Chika Village, on Friday approved a road closure before the engine test and launch of the Starship SN11 vehicle. SpaceX has not said it will actually try to launch the SN11, but its test window opens at 8 a.m. EDT (7 a.m. local time, 1200 GMT) and lasts more than 12 hours, according to Cameron County officials.
“I have ordered close proximity to Boca Chika Beach and Hwy 4 for the purpose of protecting public health and safety during the SpaceX engine test and for a 10km flight. The same day, “Cameron County Judge Eddie Trevino Jr. said in a statement. “If members of the public want to see the flight, please do so from a safe distance and away from Boka Chika Beach.”
Related: NASA astronauts look at SpaceX’s starship SN11 (photo)
SpaceX’s Starship SN11 rocket is the latest prototype of a fully reusable spacecraft capable of missions to the moon and beyond. The company is developing a 165-foot-tall (50-meter) rocket and a huge booster called Super Heavy to fly astronauts and other gear to the moon and Mars. Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, last week unveiled the first super heavy prototype, a trial version that will not fly.
As its name suggests, the SN11 is the 11th starship prototype of the Rocket SpaceX. The private spaceflight company has so far launched three other prototypes from its facility near Boca Chia Beach. 8, SN9 and SN10, although none of them eventually survived.
The Starship SN10 prototype was actually the first to land, but exploded shortly after the touchdown. SpaceX is tweeting the design of the starship with each launch to improve its performance.
On Monday (March 26), SpaceX tested its Starship SN11 rocket, which set the stage for the next test flight. Like its most recent predecessor, the SN11 is powered by three of SpaceX’s Raptor engines. It is expected to start at an altitude of 6.2 miles (10 kilometers), then flip back to Earth and flip one more time for a controlled landing using its engine.
Although SpaceX has already lined up customers for its Starship vehicle, the company is improving the design of the spacecraft and its super heavy booster.
Japanese billionaire Yusaku Mezawa has signed up for a trip around the moon aboard a starship for himself and eight others. The mission, dubbed “Dearmoon”, is targeted to launch in 2023. As part of the space agency’s Artemis program, NASA has also selected Starship as one of three contenders to land astronauts and payloads on the moon.
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