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SpaceX Celebrates 22nd Anniversary with Major Milestones Achieved During Starship Flight Test 3

Author:

Evelyn Janeidy Arevalo

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SpaceX was founded on March 14, 2002, it celebrated its 22nd company founding anniversary today with the successful third integrated flight test (IFT-3) of Starship at Starbase. Thousands of spectators gathered at Isla Blanca Park in South Padre Island, Texas, to witness the historic launch.

The event began at 8:25 a.m. CT as Starship lifted off from the Boca Chica Beach launch tower under the foggy sky During the ascent phase, all 33 Raptor engines on the Super Heavy booster successfully ignited, completing a full-duration burn, marking the second successful attempt at this critical milestone. Spectators were cheering as the rocket’s methane-fueled engines roared and lit up the cloudy sky, rapidly climbing higher, leaving a trail of smoke behind. The Cosmic Chronicles team was present at the IFT-3 launch, they captured an incredible video from Isla Blanca Park at the island, shown below. The stainless-steel rocket-ship prototypes that performed IFT-3 are: Starship SN28 (Serial Number twenty-eight) and Super Heavy Booster 10.

Following the ascent, Starship executed a flawless hot-stage separation, shutting down all but three of Super Heavy’s Raptor engines before igniting the six second-stage Raptor engines. The Super Heavy booster then completed a precise flip maneuver and boostback burn, guiding it towards its designated splashdown point in the Gulf of Mexico. However, the mission encountered a setback during the landing phase, as the Super Heavy booster experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly (RUD) approximately 462 meters above the ground, just under seven minutes into the flight. 

Meanwhile, Starship continued its journey to space with its six Raptor engines, becoming the first Starship to complete a full-duration ascent burn and reaching its expected orbit at an altitude of over 220 kilometers. “Starship reached orbital velocity! Congratulations SpaceX team!!” said SpaceX founder Elon Musk via 𝕏. “At ~5000 tons, Starship is the largest flying object ever made,” he said. Starship is the world’s largest most powerful rocket, capable of generating over 17 million pounds of thrust at liftoff. 

During the coasting phase around planet Earth, Starship achieved several additional objectives, including the successful opening and closing of its “Pez” payload door. The “Pez” door mechanism is currently designed to deploy dozens of Starlink satellites on future missions. Once Starship is operational, it will enable SpaceX to complete its Starlink broadband satellite constellation to connect the entire world to high-speed internet.

One of the most critical moments of the flight occurred during reentry, as Starship experienced its first-ever entry from space, providing invaluable data on vehicle control during hypersonic reentry, as well as seeing how the heatshield tiles withstand extremely hot temperatures as it crossed Earth’s atmosphere. Incredible live views of the entry were made possible by Starlink antenna terminals operating on Starship, as shown in the breathtaking video clip below. “Reliable high-speed, low-latency internet around the world—even while traveling at 27,000 km/h through a plasma field,” announced Starlink on social media.

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Telemetry signals from Starship were lost approximately 49 minutes into the mission as Starship reentered our planet’s atmosphere, marking the conclusion of the flight test. SpaceX aimed to perform a soft landing over the Indian Ocean water, however, the company said during the broadcast that they “lost” the ship as it RUD (broke down) over the region. Even though they did not land in a controlled manner, it is remarkable how Starship achieved flying halfway around Earth to reach its destination over the Indian Ocean.

“Happy birthday to SpaceX! What a day! HUGE congratulations to the entire team for this incredible day: clean count (glad the shrimpers could get out in the nick of time!), liftoff, hot staging, Super Heavy boost back and coast (and likely a couple engines making mainstage during landing burn!), clean ship ”insertion” and coast, payload door cycling and prop transfer demo (to be confirmed!), and ship entry!” said SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell via 𝕏. 

“Congrats to SpaceX on a successful test flight! Starship has soared into the heavens. Together, we are making great strides through Artemis to return humanity to the Moon— then look onward to Mars,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson after the flight. 

As SpaceX continues to analyze the data collected from the mission, multiple Starship and Super Heavy vehicles are under construction to perform more test flights at Starbase this year. “This rapid iterative development approach has been the foundation of all of SpaceX’s major innovations,” stated the company. “Recursive improvement is essential as we strive to build a fully reusable transportation system capable of enabling humanity’s exploration of Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars, and beyond.”

“Thank you to our customers, Cameron County, spaceflight fans, and the wider community for the continued support and encouragement. And congratulations to the entire SpaceX team on an exciting third flight test of Starship!” said SpaceX. “The support from our neighbors across the Rio Grande in Mexico is much appreciated!” said Musk. Watch the broadcast of SpaceX’s Starship Flight Test 3 in the videos linked below.

VIDEO: Cosmic Chronicles view of Starship Flight Test 3

VIDEO: SpaceX Starship Flight Test 3 Broadcast

Author’s note: Thanks for reading Cosmic Chronicles. Write your thoughts in the comment section below. If you have story suggestions or feedback, Direct Message me on social media 𝕏: Evelyn Janeidy Arevalo @JaneidyEve. Read the most recent stories featured below. Thank You.

Evelyn Janeidy Arevalo

Embracing the cosmos as an independent journalist. I orbit the realms of space exploration with a focus on NASA and SpaceX. Join me as I unravel the wonders of our universe, one stellar story at a time!

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