Today at 8 AM ET, SpaceX will begin a 20-minute launch window for Starship’s second-ever fully integrated test flight. We’ll see the company’s spacecraft attempt to travel to space once more if everything goes according to plan during the pre-flight procedures and the weather cooperates. In April, SpaceX finished the first fully integrated launch of Starship. Despite being regarded as a success, the company was unable to accomplish all of its goals and was forced to purposefully detonate the spacecraft after its two stages fell apart.
The Federal Aviation Administration ( FAA ) grounded Starship as a result of that incident while authorities looked into it. They discovered that the explosion started a wildfire at Boca Chica State Park, scattered debris across 385 acres of land, and sent pulverized concrete raining down in areas up to 6.5 miles northwest of the pad site. Before granting SpaceX permission to fly its reusable spacecraft once more, the FAA mandated that it take 63 corrective measures.
Due to the events of Starship’s first test flight, SpaceX announced that several changes would be made for this flight. A new hot-stage separation system, an electronic Thrust Vector Control ( TVC ) system for Super Heavy Raptor engines, pad foundation reinforcements, and a water-cooled steel flame deflector are among them.
On its website and on X, the company begins broadcasting the launch live at 7:24 AMET. The Starship’s upper stage will fly across the planet before splashing down off a Hawaiian coast if its stages are able to successfully separate this time.