+34
SpaceX launched Starship on its 14th test flight and first orbital attempt, deploying 26 Starlink satellites after lifting off from Texas on Monday.
SpaceX launched its Starship rocket on its first flight to orbit on Monday, marking a major step for the most powerful rocket ever built. The behemoth, standing more than 120 meters (131 yards), lifted off from Texas shortly after 8:48 a.m. ET (1248 GMT) on its 14th test flight.
A 75-minute launch window had opened at 8:15 a.m. ET. If successful, Monday's test flight could mark a monumental step forward, signifying that Starship may soon leave its test flight phase and enter full operation. As Starship crosses that threshold, the ripple effects for the broader space industry are expected to be seismic. The mission also aims to deploy the inaugural batch of a new generation of Starlink internet satellites.
Orbital Flight Removes Safety Net
For the past 13 test flights, SpaceX intentionally placed Starship in a passively safe suborbital trajectory. The company acknowledged in a blog post that even if control over the spacecraft was completely lost, it was already on a path to reenter the atmosphere and splash down in a pre-determined location. As Starship attempts to reach orbit for the first time, the vehicle will lose that safety net.
It will be traveling at such high speeds and at a precise trajectory that it will enter free fall around the planet. That means if it loses control, it cannot be easily dragged back down to Earth. Reaching orbit will offer Starship a dazzling array of new possibilities, perhaps allowing it to deploy functional satellites for the first time as well as pave the way for future exploration deeper into space. But missteps pose new threats.
SpaceX has said Starship will fly well below crewed space stations. The ship's altitude will be about 171 miles (275 kilometers), while the International Space Station orbits around 200 miles (400 kilometers) and China's Tiangong station operates above 210 miles (340 kilometers).
However, if Starship loses control while in orbit, the rocket could collide with active satellites or other valuable equipment. That is why, the company said, it may abort a planned engine burn, keeping Starship on a suborbital flight path, if there are any hints of malfunction in the early minutes of Monday's flight. There are so many things that can go wrong, said Joseph Gonzalez, an associate professor of practice in aerospace engineering at the University of Illinois.
With propellant systems, maybe there is a leak, or a freeze over of one of the bows, so engines may not ignite. Then the result is essentially a dead object in orbit that can pose a risk.
Engineering Challenges Affect Launch
Meanwhile, SpaceX is grappling with a host of engineering challenges, even as it sets the stage for this unprecedented vehicle to reshape the launch industry and, possibly, humanity's future in the cosmos. Monday's mission, while expected to deploy operational satellites for the first time, is still considered a test flight. SpaceX will actively be vetting recent changes it has made to the vehicle.
During the last test mission in July, the Super Heavy rocket booster, which gives Starship its first burst of power off the launchpad, was only able to relight eight of its 13 engines during the moments before it practiced an upright landing into the Gulf. That problem did not affect the mission's overall success, but making a controlled, safe touchdown is crucial to Starship's long-term capabilities, because the company hopes to recapture the rocket back at its launch tower in order to refly the rocket repeatedly.
SpaceX said it has made several tweaks, including hardware modifications to improve filtering to the engines and software changes to enhance relight reliability, to solve the Super Heavy booster's lingering engine issues. Nevertheless, Super Heavy will not return to dry land but once again attempt a practice landing over the ocean.
Meanwhile, the upper Starship spacecraft, also referred to as the ship, will power up its own engines and continue flying on a suborbital trajectory. As a safety precaution, SpaceX said it will then spend about 20 minutes vetting the spacecraft, ensuring the systems that can guide it back for a safe landing are working, and that the backups to those systems are functioning, before firing up the ship's engines once more to enter Earth orbit.
Most of Starship's test flights so far have run just over an hour, and all were flown on a suborbital trajectory. But on Monday, the spacecraft may stay aloft for nearly 10 hours, deploying its batch of 26 Starlink satellites and completing six laps around the planet. The ship will then attempt to guide itself safely back through the atmosphere.
New Technologies Expand Starship Role
Starship is set to deploy a host of new space-based technologies, including the upgraded Starlink satellites designed to boost the capacity of SpaceX's global internet business and orbital data centers that CEO Elon Musk hopes will power energy-sucking AI models. The promises only grow bolder from there. Starship has a multibillion-dollar contract to carry NASA astronauts to the moon's surface, perhaps for the first time since the Apollo program, amid a new space race with China.
And Musk continues to harp on his long-shot vision of using the gargantuan launch vehicle to create a self-sustaining city on Mars. Since Starship test flights began, dating back to brief hop tests in 2019, those goals have seemed far beyond the horizon. People near the sandy shores of Texas' southernmost coastline are accustomed to the roar of the most powerful rocket ever made.
Since 2023, various prototypes of SpaceX's Starship have taken flight from the area 13 times, with nearly half ending in some form of unintended explosion. But the stakes are about to get even higher. Monday's flight, if successful, will mark the beginning of a new phase in the vehicle's development and introduce a host of new risks. The four-tonne upper stage is expected to have crash-landed on the moon in a separate uncrewed demonstration, underscoring the challenges of controlled landings.
CTVToronto
CP24:This story was compiled and edited by the HeadTopics newsroom and HT AI from the reports above.
Spacex Starship Starlink Elon Musk NASA Texas Orbital Launch Spacex Starship Starlink Satellites Super Heavy Booster NASA Moon Contract
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News: You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
SpaceX Starship Completes Wet Dress Rehearsal, Targets Orbital Flight on MondaySpaceX has successfully completed a wet dress rehearsal for its next Starship launch, confirming that the rocket is ready to fly. Flight 14 is scheduled for Monday, September 28, and will be the first time the Starship vehicle attempts to reach orbit. The mission will test the spacecraft's ability to deploy satellites and perform a controlled return to Earth.
Read more »
Nvidia launches Open Agent Safety Platform to prevent rogue AI agentsNvidia unveiled a new open-source security platform designed to stop AI agents from going rogue, following high-profile breaches by OpenAI, Anthropic, and Meta systems.
Read more »
Elon Musk's Tesla and SpaceX have a huge week on tapIt's a huge week for Musk fans.
Read more »