SpaceX Test Launches Its Starship Rocket: How to Watch

If problems arise and SpaceX is not able to launch on Monday, it will continue to try throughout the week. While the launch site appeared hazy on Sunday afternoon, SpaceX said the weather looked “pretty good for tomorrow morning but we’re keeping an eye on wind shear.”

What is Starship?

It is the tallest rocket ever built — 394 feet tall, or nearly 90 feet taller than the Statue of Liberty including the pedestal.

And it has the most engines ever in a rocket booster: The Super Heavy, the lower section that will propel the upper Starship vehicle to orbit, has 33 of SpaceX’s powerful Raptor engines sticking out of its bottom. They are able to generate 16 million pounds of thrust at full throttle, far more than the Saturn V that carried the Apollo astronauts to the moon.

Starship is designed to be entirely reusable. The Super Heavy booster is to land much like those for SpaceX’s smaller Falcon 9 rockets, and Starship will be able to return from space belly-flopping through the atmosphere like a sky diver before pivoting to a vertical position for landing.

Why is SpaceX building Starship?

SpaceX’s current Falcon 9 rocket is the most frequently launched rocket in the world. It has launched to space 24 times in 2023, most recently on Friday night.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/16/science/starship-spacex-launch-stream.html