Rocket launches are exciting to watch, but the past two SpaceX Starship launches gave viewers more than they expected. Both starships exploded after launch. Nevertheless, the company considered the mission a success thanks to the data and information collected. And it doesn’t stop. SpaceX on Tuesday announced plans to launch its third Starship mission on March 14, pending approval from U.S. regulators.
The mission will be broadcast live on SpaceX owner Elon Musk’s social media platform X. The broadcast is scheduled to start at 7:30 a.m. ET, about 30 minutes before it’s scheduled to begin, so you’ll need to wake up early to watch. However, SpaceX said in the mission description on its website that the timing of the mission is “likely to change” and telling viewers to keep checking back.
Starship is perhaps the most ambitious effort for Mr. Musk, who also runs satellite internet company Starlink along with electric car makers Tesla, X and neurotechnology company Neuralink. The Starship mission is critical to SpaceX and Musk’s goals of reaching and eventually settling the Moon and Mars.
SpaceX is currently working towards this mission, but there is still much to accomplish. And with the promise of new orbits and even better data insights, the space company’s third mission could prove to be its most important yet.
What You Can Expect from the Starship Mission
SpaceX’s third Starship mission is designed to test whether the spacecraft can perform certain tasks. After launch, the company will attempt to open the spacecraft’s payload door and transfer fuel from one part of the spacecraft to another. For the first time, SpaceX will also attempt to reignite a Raptor engine in space, a test that could be crucial for future missions as the company seeks to eventually propel its Starship through space.
The spacecraft chooses a different flight route this time, attempting to land safely in the Indian Ocean instead of the Pacific Ocean. SpaceX said in a statement that the new flight route is designed to maximize “public safety,” but did not say how.
The new flight path will also pave the way for SpaceX to experiment with “in-space engine burns,” a nod to the company’s attempt to restart a Raptor engine in space.
This mission is expected to last him 1 hour and 15 minutes. Previous missions took him 90 minutes to complete.
What happened in the previous mission?
April Mission: Forced Explosion
The first Starship mission was launched in April 2023. At the start of the mission, the spacecraft’s two stages were to be separated: a reusable upper stage called Starship and its first stage, the Super Heavy Booster. Unfortunately, this did not happen, and for safety reasons the SpaceX team was forced to detonate the spacecraft just four minutes into the mission.
November Mission: Liquid Oxygen Explosion
In November 2023, Starship launched its second mission. At this point, Starship managed to separate the two stages and achieve a nominal first stage engine burn. However, eight minutes after liftoff, Starship exploded while trying to expel liquid oxygen. Oddly enough, the explosion may not have needed to happen. Earlier this year, Musk said that actual missions with payloads (materials carried by spacecraft to carry out scientific missions) would not carry liquid oxygen.
Third time’s the charm?
Although both missions were technically failures, SpaceX considers them successful, especially the second mission. And the company warned that even if the upcoming third mission fails, it won’t be all bad.
“Starship’s second flight test achieved a number of major milestones and provided invaluable data to continue rapidly developing Starship,” the company wrote on its site. “Each of these flight tests continue to be just that: a test. They aren’t occurring in a lab or on a test stand, but are putting flight hardware in a flight environment to maximize learning.”
When will the Starship mission begin?
Starship’s third mission is scheduled to launch on March 14th at 8 a.m. ET. However, for this to happen, the weather must cooperate and the spacecraft must have no issues in the run-up to launch.
Additionally, SpaceX Starship cannot launch until it receives a license from the Federal Aviation Administration, which it has not yet received. That’s probably why SpaceX said the launch timing is “dynamic and likely to change.”
How to watch Starship Mission 3
SpaceX is offering two live streams to follow the third mission live.
The first option is the landing page for SpaceX’s third mission. Here, the SpaceX Broadcast Team will be live streaming his 30 minutes before launch.
Given Musk’s involvement with both SpaceX and X, it’s no surprise that this mission will be broadcast live on SpaceX’s X account. It will be broadcast live 30 minutes before the start.