SpaceX is preparing for the third test flight of Starship. The 122nd rocket will launch from the SpaceX Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, around 14:00 Kiev time on March 14. This will be the opening of a 110-minute launch window.
The launch will be live streamed on social media by X and on the SpaceX website. The stream will begin 30 minutes before the launch window.
Also, the testing mission of the largest SpaceX rocket called Integrated Flight Test 3 (IFT-3) can be viewed on specialized YouTube channels, including Spaceflight Now.
The first two flights, conducted on April 20 and November 18 last year, were not completed as planned as the rocket exploded over the Gulf of Mexico each time. A recent FAA investigation, conducted after the second test, identified 17 corrective actions that SpaceX needs to take to obtain the final launch license, which the Federal Aviation Administration issued late Wednesday evening, as reported by Gizmodo.
SpaceX has outlined several goals for the third test flight, including the successful launch and burn of the Super Heavy carrier rocket (equipped with 33 Raptor engines) and the Starship propulsion module, opening and closing the payload bay doors of Starship, the first in-space relight of a Raptor engine, and the controlled return of Starship to the atmosphere. Additionally, SpaceX plans to conduct a complex fuel transfer demonstration, which it must perform in the future under its contract with NASA.
Earlier, SpaceX aimed Starship at the Pacific Ocean, but for ITF-3 this has changed: the propulsion module is now targeted at the Indian Ocean. The entire mission, if successful, should last less than 10 minutes.
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