Starship’s Next Launch Could Be Just Two Weeks Away

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Less than a month has passed since the historic fifth flight of SpaceXs Starship, during which the company caught the booster with mechanical arms back at the launch pad in Texas..

The improbable but successful recovery of the Starship first stage with chopsticks last month, and the on-target splashdown of the Starship upper stage halfway around the world, allowed SpaceX to avoid an anomaly investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration..

Several thermal protection experiments and operational changes will test the limits of Starships capabilities and generate flight data to inform plans for ship catch and reuse, the companys statement said..

SpaceXs update also confirms that this will be the last flight of the initial version of the Starship vehicle, with the next generation including redesigned forward flaps, larger propellant tanks, and newer tiles and secondary thermal protection layers...

Reaching a near-monthly cadence of Starship flights during only the second year of the vehicle's operation is impressive, but its also essential if SpaceX wants to unlock the full potential of a rocket that needs multiple refueling launches to support Starship missions to the Moon or Mars...

Full story at WIRED | 

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