SpaceX wants to make a fourth Starship test flight in early summer

SpaceX will attempt to send the Starship rocket system back into space in less than a week and a half. The US company has already announced the planned launch date, although it has not yet received permission from the authorities.

Here's What We Know

SpaceX intends to send Starship into space on 5 June 2024. This flight will be the fourth for the spacecraft. The previous test mission took place in March this year. Then the company was able to conduct some tests, but the connection with the spacecraft was lost when it made a descent over the Indian Ocean.

The American aerospace company was able to check the payload compartments and conduct a fuel transfer test when Starship was in space. It is worth noting that both tests, which took place in 2023, ended with explosions while still in the Earth's atmosphere.

Starship consists of a spacecraft of the same name and a Super Heavy rocket. The total height of the rocket system is more than 120 metres. The ship will take part in missions to deliver people to the Moon and Mars. In particular, the Artemis III mission will take place in the coming years, in which US humans will return to the surface of the Moon for the first time since the Apollo programme.

For the next mission, Starship will launch from a spaceport in Texas and sink into the ocean at the end of the flight. During the test, SpaceX intends to emphasise the possibility of returning the spacecraft and the first stage of the launch vehicle to earth.

Source: SpaceX