Tag: Starship
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Rocket Report: Starbase comes alive again; China launches four times
Welcome to Edition 6.04 of the Rocket Report! SpaceX has a Super Heavy booster on the launch pad in Texas a lot sooner than many thought. There was some pretty extensive damage at the launch site in the aftermath of the Starship test launch in April, but SpaceX made quick work with repairs and upgrades…
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SpaceX teases another application for Starship
You’ve probably heard about SpaceX’s plans to use its giant new Starship vehicle to land people on the Moon and Mars, send numerous Starlink satellites or large telescopes into space, or perhaps even serve as a high-speed point-to-point terrestrial transport for equipment or people. There’s another application for SpaceX’s Starship architecture that the company is…
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SpaceX focuses on launch site readiness ahead of Starship Flight 2
Progress toward the second flight of the world’s most powerful launch vehicle continues to take place at Starbase. With Ship 25 passing its six-engine Static Fire test, the focus has returned to completing upgrades to the Orbital Launch Mount (OLM), with the installation of a steel plate water deluge system now taking place. That will…
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SpaceX making more than 1,000 changes to next Starship rocket
SpaceX will debut numerous upgrades on the second launch of its full-scale Starship mega-rocket. Those upgrades include a major change in how the rocket’s two stages separate, propulsion system improvements, and a beefed-up launch pad in South Texas that should better withstand the blast from 33 main engines. “There are really a tremendous number of…
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Musk outlines major upgrades for Starship rocket
SpaceX’s Starship sits atop its Super Heavy booster prior to the the launcher’s first test flight in April 2023. Image: SpaceX. SpaceX will need another six weeks or so to finish implementing hundreds of changes to its Super Heavy-Starship rocket and the gargantuan booster’s Texas launch pad before it will be ready for a second…
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Ship 25 begins engine testing as Starship launch pad work continues
Two months after Starship’s first integrated test flight, engine testing is already underway for Ship 25, the ship that will fly on the second launch of Starship. At the same time, SpaceX is approaching the final stretch of completing the foundation work needed at the orbital launch mount (OLM) from where Super Heavy and Starship…
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This Week In Spaceflight: Vulcan fires up, Canadian fires from space, and JWST deep field data
A variety of methalox rockets are approaching launch, with the United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Vulcan rocket completing its flight readiness firing. What’s more, the wildfires currently raging in Canada have been studied from space using a plethora of weather observation satellites, and the James Webb Space Telescope’s (JWST) advanced extragalactic survey data was officially released.…
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OLM mods as vehicles shuffle in preparation for upcoming test flights
Starbase continues to find itself in the midst of preparing for the next test flight of Starship, following the events of Booster 7 and Ship 24’s rise into the South Texas sky. Modifications to the launch site are the main watch item, as it readies for the installation of steel plates and a water deluge…
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Ship 25 confirmed as push for summer replay of Starship test flight
With the maiden launch of Starship still fresh in the mind, the follow-up flight is set to be just a few months away — this time with the upgraded Booster 9, and the surprising partnership with Ship 25. While the latter doesn’t sport upgrades already employed on sister ships at the production site, the next…
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Ship 25 confirmed as push for summer replay of Starship test flight
With the maiden launch of Starship still fresh in the mind, the follow-up flight is set to be just a few months away — this time with the upgraded Booster 9, and the surprising partnership with Ship 25. While the latter doesn’t sport upgrades already employed on sister ships at the production site, the next…