The second flight of the Starship of SpaceX has successfully confirmed the key target not to damage the launch platform, as confirmed by its owner, Elon Musk.
In its recent inspectionstated that the platform is in excellent condition and announced that the third Starship could be ready to fly in three or four weeks.
After the first flight, which left a crater in the platform and damaged the structure, SpaceX implemented improvements, including concrete reinforcements and a water-cooled flame deflector.
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Although the second launch was delayed by four months, the platform resisted apparently intacteven enduring the heat of the Starship’s 33 Raptor engines at full power for the first time.
However, The launch was not perfect. Despite overcoming several critical phases, such as the separation of stages and the ascent to 150 kilometers in altitude, there were problems. The Super Heavy stage had difficulties with restarting the engines and, finally, a big explosion occurred.
The challenges of the third attempt
For the third flight, crucial aspects remain to be tested, including the restart of the Super Heavy, its splashdown, the shutdown of the Starship’s engines and its atmospheric reentry. There are concerns about the strength of Starship’s heat shieldsince he has lost tiles in previous flights.
Despite these challenges, Ship 28 appears to be ready for the next flight in about a month. However, the exact date will depend on the implementation of additional improvements and testing.
Although the Federal Aviation Administration is investigating problems with the second flight, the next test is not expected to face major delays unless there are unexpected setbacks.