Starship Integrated Flight Test 3 Launch Discussion and Updates Thread!
Starship Integrated Flight Test 3 Launch Discussion and Updates Thread!
Well folks, Starship IFT-3 is finally here!
Scheduled for (UTC) | 2024-03-14 13:25 |
---|---|
Scheduled for (local) | 2024-03-14 08:25 (CDT) |
Launch Window (UTC) | 2024-03-14 12:00 to 2024-03-14 13:50 (110 minutes) |
Launch site | OLM-A, SpaceX Starbase, TX, USA. |
Booster | B10 |
Ship | S28 |
Booster landing | B10 to perform a soft water landing in the Gulf of Mexico |
Ship landing | S28 expected to impact the Indian Ocean |
Webcasts
Stream | Link |
---|---|
Space Affairs | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIde9hGPy18 |
Everyday Astronaut | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixZpBOxMopc |
Spaceflight Now | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfnkZFtHPmM |
NASASpaceflight | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrxCYzixV3s |
LabPadre | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbNL6cf1Rww |
The Launch Pad | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-Mhe9ZIjo4 |
SpaceX | https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1768258691319689232 |
The Space Devs | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcTxmw_yZ_c |
Stats
Sourced from NextSpaceflight and r/SpaceX:
☑️ 3rd Starship Full Stack launch
☑️ 337th SpaceX launch overall (including Starship hops)
☑️ 25th SpaceX launch this year
☑️ 1st launch from OLM-A this year
☑️ 117 days, 0:22:10 turnaround for this pad
Mission Details 🚀
- SpaceX website (current): Starship's Third Flight Test
- SpaceX website (archived 2024-03-13): Starship's Third Flight Test
Link to Starship Dev thread
Still no signal from the ship. Reentry started a little bit early, so I would think it would be transonic by now.
Edit: Loss of S28 confirmed on the webcast. Now we just wait for Scott Manley and Zack Golden to tell us what happened :) See you all for IFT-4!
11 0 ReplyThis thread definitely!
10 0 ReplyTime to go scrub our bathroom floors to get the concept out of the universe's system.
4 0 Reply
Wayward boats again...
https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1768243304054092192
New liftoff time is 8:02 a.m. CT, team is clearing a few boats from the keep out area in the Gulf of Mexico
On the bright side, it's now scheduled for after sunrise, and the fog seems to be clearing!
Edit: https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1768246454328742222
Shifting T-0 a few more minutes to give boats time to clear the keep out area, now targeting 8:10 a.m. CT
7 0 ReplyDang boats, always disappoint. Hopefully it's for the best!
4 0 Reply
Views of re-entry! Look at that plasma!
7 0 ReplyIt is looking like it might go on first attempt!
6 0 Reply45 seconds in, amazing all engines look great
6 0 Replywell, that was pretty good. i wonder why the booster reentry was oscilating so much, and the ship reentry didnt seem very controlled either. incredible video from the ship during reentry though.
6 0 ReplySECO and nominal orbit insertion for Starship!
6 0 ReplyBooster survived the boostback burn this time!
Edit: Looks like there was an issue with re-entry and landing burn, but the booster made it further than last time!
6 0 ReplyLooks like the ship lost roll control. It was re-entering pretty side on instead of belly first. Tim Dodd thought the hot gas thrusters may have gotten clogged with ice.
6 0 ReplyThanks to everyone posting in here, couldn't watch the webcast so it was good to catch up on everything that happened!
6 0 ReplyOnboard views from the booster and ship this time!
5 0 ReplyT-0 pushed by 30 minutes: https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1768231845551096149
Weather is 70% favorable for today’s third integrated flight test of Starship.
The live webcast will begin ~30 minutes before liftoff, which is currently targeted for 7:30 a.m. CT → https://www.spacex.com/launches/mission/?missionId=starship-flight-3
5 0 ReplyEveryday astronaut stream has a thermal camera showing fueling
5 0 ReplyI think this is the correct link for the SpaceX official feed on X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1LyxBnOvzvOxN
Looks like it's scheduled to start at 6:56 CDT now that launch is targeting 7:30 AM CDT.
5 0 ReplyThanks! Added to the main post.
2 0 Reply
That fog cleared fast!
5 0 ReplyLooks like some sort of fuelling is underway. Or at least chilling lines in the OLM and tower in preparation for filling.
4 0 ReplyStarship is supposed to coast for the next 30 minutes, until T+ 40
4 0 ReplyAny news on the propellant transfer demo?
2 0 Replythey announced it completed. Not sure if it worked as intended.
4 0 Reply
Liftoff!
4 0 ReplyI can't watch any videos right now, how is it going?
4 0 ReplyStarship is descending into the atmosphere
Wings have just folded at 110km altitude
7 0 Reply
They just announced that the PEZ door is opening.
4 0 ReplyHot Staging!
4 0 ReplySo I guess still no orbital flight for test 4? I imagine relighting an engine in space was a requirement.
4 0 ReplyYeah, that would seem prudent. Wouldn't want a Starship stuck in orbit and then reentering uncontrollably, a la Long March 5B.
3 0 Reply
Hosted webcast is back. Payload door opening and propellant transfer were tested, still awaiting data review. Raptor relight imminent.
Edit: It sounds like Starship decided to skip the raptor relight. Going straight to reentry.
3 0 ReplyAs much as I'd like for those rotations to be intentional, for now I'm assuming they didn't relight because they lost orientational control.
4 0 Reply
Prop load soon!
https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1768251797846847981
The Starship team is go for prop load but keeping an eye on winds, now targeting 8:25 a.m. CT for liftoff
3 0 ReplyLaunch time has been pushed 30 min (7:30 local). The window is 110 minutes.
3 0 ReplyCountdown and Flight Test Timeline (from SpaceX Site)
Countdown All times approximate Hr/Min/Sec Event
- 01:15:00 SpaceX Flight Director conducts poll and verifies GO for propellant load
- 00:53:00 Ship LOX (liquid oxygen) load underway
- 00:51:00 Ship fuel (liquid methane) load underway
- 00:42:00 Booster LOX load underway
- 00:41:00 Booster fuel load underway
- 00:19:40 Raptor begins engine chill on booster and ship
- 00:03:30 Booster propellant load complete
- 00:02:50 Ship propellant load complete
- 00:00:30 SpaceX flight director verifies GO for launch
- 00:00:10 Flame deflector activation
- 00:00:03 Raptor ignition sequence begins
- 00:00:00 Excitement guaranteed
Flight Test Timeline All times are approximate Hr/Min/Sec Event
- 00:00:02 Liftoff
- 00:00:52 Max Q (moment of peak mechanical stress on the rocket)
- 00:02:42 Booster MECO (most engines cut off)
- 00:02:44 Hot-staging (Starship Raptor ignition and stage separation)
- 00:02:55 Booster boostback burn startup
- 00:03:50 Booster boostback burn shutdown
- 00:06:36 Booster is transonic
- 00:06:46 Booster landing burn startup
- 00:07:04 Booster landing burn shutdown
- 00:08:35 Starship engine cutoff
- 00:11:56 Payload door open
- 00:24:31 Propellant transfer demo
- 00:28:21 Payload door close
- 00:40:46 Raptor in-space relight demo
- 00:49:05 Starship entry
- 01:02:16 Starship is transonic
- 01:03:04 Starship is subsonic
- 01:04:39 An exciting landing!
3 0 ReplyAcronyms, initialisms, abbreviations, contractions, and other phrases which expand to something larger, that I've seen in this thread:
Fewer Letters More Letters LOX Liquid Oxygen MECO Main Engine Cut-Off ~ MainEngineCutOff podcast OLM Orbital Launch Mount SECO Second-stage Engine Cut-Off Jargon Definition Raptor Methane-fueled rocket engine under development by SpaceX
5 acronyms in this thread; the most compressed thread commented on today has 19 acronyms.
[Thread #36 for this sub, first seen 14th Mar 2024, 11:20] [FAQ] [Full list] [Contact] [Source code]
3 0 ReplyProp load closed out. Winds are looking good.
2 0 ReplyProp load has started on ship and booster:
https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1768254337204260905
Propellant load of Starship’s upper stage is now underway
https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1768255938526626089
Prop load of the Super Heavy booster is underway
2 0 ReplySpaceX are live. Kate Tice and Siva Bharadvaj are hosting.
2 0 Reply