Starship will then ignite its own engines and attempt to propel itself to speeds quick enough to enter Earth’s orbit, a feat that typically requires spacecraft to travel about 5 miles (8 kilometers) per second. After its fuel is spent, the Super Heavy will detach from the Starship spacecraft and fall back toward the ocean. If all goes according to plan, the Super Heavy will ignite up to 33 of its massive engines and vault the Starship capsule out over the Gulf of Mexico. Standing at 397 feet (121 meters) tall, the gargantuan rocket consists of two parts: the upper spacecraft, referred to as Starship, and the lower first-stage booster, called Super Heavy, that gives the initial burst of power at liftoff. Local officials are expected to keep people far away from the launch site, recommending a viewing location about 5 miles (8 kilometers) across the water on Texas’ South Padre Island. Debris rained down over parts of the South Texas landscape, sparking outcry among environmental and wildlife groups. The inaugural integrated test flight of Starship and Super Heavy in April ended just minutes after takeoff when the vehicle began tumbling tail-over-head, forcing SpaceX to initiate self-destruct mode and explode both rocket stages over the Gulf. SpaceX will carry a live stream of the launch from the company’s Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas. ![]() How the launch attempt fares could have a deep impact on the US space agency’s lunar exploration goals. The Starship spacecraft stacked atop the Super Heavy booster is intended to play a key role in the NASA Artemis III moon mission, currently slated for 2025. Riding on Starship’s eventual success is the company’s hopes for human exploration of the moon and Mars. Grid fins are metal, mesh squares that line the top of Starship’s Super Heavy rocket booster, and they’re used to orient the booster as it heads in for a landing after flight. Musk shared that the reason for the delay was the need to replace an actuator - or a mechanical component that allows movement - on one of the rocket’s grid fins. The company is targeting a 20-minute launch window that opens Saturday at 7 a.m. ![]() The megarocket - the most powerful launch vehicle ever built - was expected to lift off on Friday, but SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said in a social media post Thursday that the company would hold off until Saturday to allow for time to replace a small rocket part. After months of rebuilding and clearing red tape following the April explosion of the Starship system’s first test flight, SpaceX is set for its next attempt.
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