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 |
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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!
11ReplyThis thread definitely!
10ReplyTime to go scrub our bathroom floors to get the concept out of the universe's system.
4Reply
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
7ReplyDang boats, always disappoint. Hopefully it's for the best!
4Reply
Views of re-entry! Look at that plasma!
7ReplyLooks 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.
6ReplySECO and nominal orbit insertion for Starship!
6ReplyBooster 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!
6Replywell, 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.
6ReplyThanks to everyone posting in here, couldn't watch the webcast so it was good to catch up on everything that happened!
6Reply45 seconds in, amazing all engines look great
5ReplyI 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.
5ReplyThanks! Added to the main post.
2Reply
Onboard views from the booster and ship this time!
5ReplyT-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
5ReplyEveryday astronaut stream has a thermal camera showing fueling
5ReplyIt is looking like it might go on first attempt!
5ReplyThat fog cleared fast!
5ReplyLooks like some sort of fuelling is underway. Or at least chilling lines in the OLM and tower in preparation for filling.
4ReplyLiftoff!
4ReplyHot Staging!
4ReplyThey just announced that the PEZ door is opening.
4ReplyI can't watch any videos right now, how is it going?
4ReplyStarship is descending into the atmosphere
Wings have just folded at 110km altitude
7Reply
So I guess still no orbital flight for test 4? I imagine relighting an engine in space was a requirement.
4ReplyYeah, that would seem prudent. Wouldn't want a Starship stuck in orbit and then reentering uncontrollably, a la Long March 5B.
3Reply
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
3ReplyHosted 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.
3ReplyAs 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.
4Reply
Acronyms, 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]
3ReplyStarship is supposed to coast for the next 30 minutes, until T+ 40
3ReplyAny news on the propellant transfer demo?
2Replythey announced it completed. Not sure if it worked as intended.
3Reply
Launch time has been pushed 30 min (7:30 local). The window is 110 minutes.
3ReplyCountdown 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!
3ReplyProp 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
2ReplySpaceX are live. Kate Tice and Siva Bharadvaj are hosting.
2ReplyProp load closed out. Winds are looking good.
2Reply