Starbase – Page 3 – Spaceflight Now

SpaceX readying Starship rocket for around-the-world test flight next week

April 11, 2023 Stephen Clark

SpaceX said Tuesday it won’t perform a final countdown dress rehearsal this week for the giant new Starship launch vehicle, and could send the rocket — standing nearly 40 stories tall on its Texas launch pad — on an around-the-world test flight as soon as next week.

SpaceX test-fires 31 engines on Starship’s gigantic Super Heavy booster

February 9, 2023 Stephen Clark

In a significant milestone preparing for liftoff of the world’s most powerful rocket, SpaceX test-fired 31 of the booster’s 33 methane-fueled engines Thursday in South Texas as the company eyes a launch attempt as soon as March.

SpaceX ready for 33-engine test of Starship’s Super Heavy booster

February 8, 2023 Stephen Clark

SpaceX is gearing up for the first full-up test-firing Thursday of all 33 engines on the booster for the company’s Starship mega-rocket in Texas, a critical milestone on the path to launching the giant vehicle on its first orbital test flight, which could happen as soon as March if this week’s test goes well.

SpaceX outlines plans for Starship orbital test flight

May 13, 2021 Stephen Clark

SpaceX has revealed the flight plan for the first orbital test launch of the company’s huge stainless steel Starship rocket, a 90-minute, around-the-world mission that will originate from South Texas and culminate with a controlled re-entry and splashdown in the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii.

Upgraded Starship prototype makes first soft landing after test flight

May 5, 2021 Stephen Clark

SpaceX launched and landed an upgraded prototype for the company’s next-generation Starship vehicle in South Texas on Wednesday, the company’s first Starship test flight since winning a $2.9 billion NASA contract to use the craft to land astronauts on the Moon.

Musk says methane leak doomed latest Starship test flight

April 5, 2021 Stephen Clark

SpaceX founder Elon Musk said Monday that a “relatively small” methane leak caused the explosion of the company’s latest Starship test rocket last week on an experimental flight over South Texas.

SpaceX’s latest high-altitude Starship test flight ends in another explosion

March 30, 2021 Stephen Clark

SpaceX’s latest Starship test flight apparently ended with another explosion Tuesday in South Texas, but dense fog obscured clear views of the launch and failed landing. The Federal Aviation Administration said late Tuesday it is working with SpaceX to determine if light debris reported in a nearby town came from the Starship test rocket.