Watch: SpaceX’s Starship Megarocket Prepares For “Starlink Simulator” Mission

Just over six weeks after SpaceX’s Starship-Super Heavy Flight Test 7 lifted off from Boca Chica, Texas, ending in a dramatic spectacle—the massive booster successfully caught by ‘Chopsticks’ while Starship itself was lost in a fireball over the Atlantic Ocean—Elon Musk’s space company is set to conduct Flight Test 8 of the world’s largest rocket this evening. 

Starship’s launch window opens at 1730 local time at SpaceX’s Starbase facility in south Texas. The primary goal of this launch is to test Starship’s ability to deploy Starlink “simulator” satellites into low Earth orbit. 

Summary of Flight Test 8:

Launch Details:

• Scheduled for Monday, March 3

• 60-minute launch window opens at 5:30 p.m. CT

• Live webcast starts 40 minutes before liftoff on SpaceX’s X account and X TV app

Post-Flight 7 Investigation & Upgrades [upgrades made after Flight Test 7’s firey demise of Starship]: 

• Hardware and operational changes made to increase upper stage reliability

• Forward flap upgrades reduce reentry heating exposure

• Propulsion system enhancements include a 25% increase in propellant volume

• Avionics system redesigned for added capability and redundancy

Flight Objectives:

• Follows same suborbital trajectory as previous missions

• First payload deployment test (four Starlink simulators)

• Multiple reentry experiments to improve upper stage return and catch capabilities

• Super Heavy booster launch, return, and catch attempt

Key Experiments & Tests:

• Starlink simulators to be deployed, but expected to burn up on reentry

• Single Raptor engine relight in space test planned

• Reentry stress tests: Tiles removed to test vulnerable areas, Metallic tile alternatives tested, including active cooling, and Structural stress tests on rear flaps at max reentry pressure.

• Catch fitting thermal performance test

• Radar sensor accuracy tests on chopsticks for improved vehicle retrieval

Super Heavy Booster Enhancements:

• Upgraded avionics, including a more powerful flight computer

• Improved power/network distribution and smart batteries

Booster Return & Catch Criteria:

• Safety measures in place: Healthy systems required on booster tower and Final manual command needed from Flight Director before boostback burn. 

• If conditions are not met, booster will soft splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico

The crypto-based online betting marketplace Polymarket has nine bets on today’s test flight, including the following: Will “Chopsticks catch Super Heavy?” Those odds stand at 78%. 

Watch Test Flight 8 Here:  

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