It’s time—after myriad ground tests, SpaceX will let its Starship fly free
Enlarge / An early morning view of SN8 on the launch pad in South Texas, with the Gulf of Mexico in the distance. (credit: SpaceX)
Today's the day. Probably.
After multiple ground-based tests of the propellant tanks inside its Starship prototype and firings of the vehicle's three Raptor engines, SpaceX says the large vehicle may fly on Tuesday from the company's launch site near Boca Chica Beach in Texas. The earliest the flight may begin is 11am ET (1600 UTC), but more likely it will not occur until sometime during the afternoon hours. Weather conditions are nearly perfect, but there are still myriad technical issues with this new hardware that could prevent a flight today.
This is the first time SpaceX has attempted to fly Starship to a high altitude—the vehicle may fly as high as 12.5km. Previous tests have only gone up to about 150 meters and have not included the flaps, nose cone, and other features needed to control the vehicle's flight in the thin upper atmosphere.