Tech & Innovation•14 Mar ’24 10:29 Author: Niels Opdam
Today, SpaceX will launch the Super Heavy rocket carrying the Starship spacecraft. It is the third test flight, following the first two attempts ended in a fireball. The big question is: will he break up or not? “At some point it really has to work,” says Rob van den Berg, astronomer at Sonnenborgh Observatory.
SpaceX shoots Starship into space: ‘It should really work’
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It is a very important test flight for SpaceX. After the previous failures, Elon Musk said that they were ‘just’ tests and that it was expected that they would explode. Officially, today’s launch is also a test. ‘But at some point it really has to work out,’ says Van den Berg.
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SpaceX is required by NASA to make nine successful test flights this year. “That is not only successful according to Elon Musk’s definition, but really 100 percent successful,” says Van den Berg. NASA wants to put people on the moon from the end of 2026 and the Starship is needed for that. ‘Because that is the device that will land on the moon and have to drop off astronauts and take them back with them.’
It should be possible to circle the earth
After the previous failures, SpaceX has adjusted a number of things. Although the launch and the separation between the Starship and the Super Heavy were successful, things went wrong followingwards. According to Musk, the fuel problems have now been resolved. ‘So now it is in principle possible to fly around the earth,’ says Van den Berg.
Starship should be able to complete that orbit around the Earth within an hour and fifteen minutes. The space shuttle then makes a landing in the Indian Ocean. The rocket is not yet built for that, so it sinks to the bottom of the sea. ‘On future flights, the intention is that these two parts will both land neatly once more and can be reused.’
Rocket is ‘bigger than the Dom Tower’
At 120 meters, Starship is higher than the Dom Tower in Utrecht, with a diameter of nine meters. Van den Berg describes it as a ‘large church tower’ that extends into space. The launch window opens at 1:00 PM Dutch time. Then they have until 3:00 PM to launch the rocket.
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Starship is even bigger than the Dom Tower in Utrecht. The launch window opens at 1:00 PM Dutch time. Then they have until 3:00 PM to launch the rocket.
