SpaceX Starship's 8th orbital mission on March 5: Check timings
What's the story
SpaceX is preparing for the eighth flight test of its Starship rocket, scheduled to happen on Wednesday, March 5. The launch window will open at 5:30pm CT (5:00am IST, Thursday).
This test flight was scheduled for earlier today but was called off due to technical issues. The mission follows an extensive investigation into the loss of Starship during its seventh flight test.
The Elon Musk-led company has made numerous hardware and operational enhancements aimed at improving the upper stage's reliability.
Mission details
Starship 8 mission will attempt first payload deployment
During the flight test, Starship will deploy four Starlink simulators, serving as the first demonstration of a satellite deployment mission.
These simulators will follow Starship's suborbital trajectory and are expected to disintegrate upon atmospheric re-entry. A single Raptor engine relight in space is also planned.
The flight will feature experiments focused on enabling Starship's return to the launch site. This includes testing alternative metallic tiles and a smoothed tile line to address reentry hot spots.
Upgrades
Super Heavy booster features a more powerful flight computer
The Super Heavy booster features upgraded avionics, including a more powerful flight computer and improved power distribution.
The booster's return and catch by "chopstick" arms are contingent upon meeting specific criteria, with a default soft splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico if conditions are not met.
The returning booster will produce sonic booms, audible in the surrounding area.
The upcoming mission is key for Musk and SpaceX's Mars colonization vision and NASA's Artemis program to return astronauts to the Moon.
Musk's goal
Musk's vision for Starship: Overcoming challenges to achieve reusability
Speaking on a recent podcast, Musk emphasized that the greatest hurdle to making Starship fully reusable is the heat shield.
"We've got to solve the making a fully reusable orbital heat shield. A problem that has never been solved before," he said.
However, he remained hopeful about achieving his dream of full stack reusability next year. This includes both rocket and booster components of Starship.