Hi, everybody, and welcome back to the show this week.
It's Starship Week here, so we're going to be talking about
Starship today. This is a quick update episode,
because things change rapidly with Starship every single day.
I'm your host, Will Walden, and in today's episode, we're
examining Spacex's upcoming Starship test launch.
After the April explosion of its first Test flight.
SpaceX is now ready for another attempt.
Originally scheduled for Friday, the launch has been postponed to
Saturday to replace a grid fin actuator.
It's a part that moves the grid Fins at the top of the booster
of a Starship system crucial for future moon and Mars missions,
will have a launch window opening at 7 AMCT this Saturday.
This test is critical for Spacex's ambitions to explore
space, including its role in NASA's Artemis 3 moon mission,
and could significantly influence the future of space
travel. Now, the SpaceX Starship System
represents a huge leap in space tech.
Standing at about 400 feet tall, it's the most powerful launch
vehicle ever built, and the system consists of two main
parts, the Starship spacecraft and the Super Heavy booster
combined. It's called the Starship Super
Heavy, and this upcoming launch is particularly important as it
follows a previous launch attempt in April, which ended in
an explosion. And the success of this test
flight is not just vital for SpaceX but also for NASA as the
Starship is poised to play a pivotal role in the Artemis 3
Moon mission. Now the outcome of this launch
could heavily influence the timeline and the success of the
United States lunar exploration goals.
In preparation for this launch, SpaceX has made numerous
enhancements to both the Starship spacecraft and the
Super Heavy booster, and after the failure of the first Test
flight, the company has implemented thousands of
upgrades. These include changes to the
launchpad now equipped with the water deluge system to mitigate
the force of the boosters, engines, and modifications to
the method of separation between the Starship and the Super heavy
booster. And despite these improvements,
Spacex's CEO Elon Musk has set cautious expectations for the
test, estimating only a 50% probability of reaching orbital
velocity. And Spacex's ambition for
Starship go beyond just this test flight.
The company envisions the Starship as a key vehicle for
human exploration and eventual settlement of Mars, and the test
flight success is also crucial for Artemis, with NASA's hopes
to return astronauts to the moon in 2025 or maybe 2026.
And delays and failures not only impact SpaceX but also NASA's
timelines, with potential implications for the space race
against nations like China and Russia.
Moreover, Spacex's approach to rocket development,
characterized by rapid iterations and learning from
failures, sets a unique pace in the industry and also with
regulatory bodies. And the launch has also been
mired in regulatory and environmental challenges.
SpaceX had to navigate through regulatory hurdles with the FAA
following the April explosion. And while SpaceX criticizes
these regulations for delaying progress, environmentalists
argue that the FAA hasn't done enough to prevent damage to
surrounding public lands and wildlife refuges.
Now this tension highlights the complex balance between
technical advancements and regulatory oversight and also
Environmental Conservation in the space industry.
And SpaceX was cleared by the FAA and the Fish and Wildlife
Service to launch the Starship Super Heavy without a hitch.
They passed all the tests. Now, this launch has significant
international and also commercial implications.
The success of the Starship could reinforce that the United
States positioned in the new space race, particularly against
China. It also underscores the
increasing role of private companies like SpaceX, once a
domain dominated by national space agencies like NASA.
The outcome of this launch could therefore shape not only
Spacex's future, but also the broader dynamics of
International Space exploration and commercial Space Flight.
Now looking ahead, the success of this launch could pave the
way for more advanced Starship missions, including satellite
delivery and in orbit refueling capabilities.
These advancements are essential for deep space missions such as
to Mars and also interplanetary travel.
However, a failure could lead to further delays and re
evaluations, impacting both SpaceX and NASA's future plans.
The stakes are high and we are watching this launch closely and
I think it's going to be successful.
I'm going to give it. Elon gave it a 50% chance.
I'm going to give it a 70% chance it'll reach orbital
velocity, and once it does, I give it 100% chance to land off
the coast of Hawaii near Kauai in a naval graveyard.
That's where it's going to do a belly smacker into the Pacific
Ocean. It's going to be an exciting
ride now. Thank you so much for tuning
into the show today. Remember to hit the subscriber
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yourselves and each other and I'll see you tomorrow.