this post was submitted on 14 Mar 2024
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Well folks, Starship IFT-3 is finally here!

| Scheduled for (UTC) | 2024-03-14 13:25 | |


|


| | Scheduled for (local) | 2024-03-14 08:25 (CDT) | | Launch Window (UTC) | 2024-03-14 12:00 to 2024-03-14 13:50 (110 minutes) | | Launch site | OLM-A, SpaceX Starbase, TX, USA. | | Booster | B10 | | Ship | S28 | | Booster landing | B10 to perform a soft water landing in the Gulf of Mexico | | Ship landing | S28 expected to impact the Indian Ocean |

Webcasts

| Stream | Link | |


|


| | Space Affairs | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIde9hGPy18 | Everyday Astronaut | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixZpBOxMopc | Spaceflight Now | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfnkZFtHPmM | NASASpaceflight | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrxCYzixV3s | LabPadre | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbNL6cf1Rww | The Launch Pad | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-Mhe9ZIjo4 | SpaceX | https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1768258691319689232 | The Space Devs | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcTxmw_yZ_c

Stats

Sourced from NextSpaceflight and r/SpaceX:

☑️ 3rd Starship Full Stack launch

☑️ 337th SpaceX launch overall (including Starship hops)

☑️ 25th SpaceX launch this year

☑️ 1st launch from OLM-A this year

☑️ 117 days, 0:22:10 turnaround for this pad

Mission Details 🚀

Link to Starship Dev thread

top 39 comments
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[–] threelonmusketeers@sh.itjust.works 11 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

Still no signal from the ship. Reentry started a little bit early, so I would think it would be transonic by now.

Edit: Loss of S28 confirmed on the webcast. Now we just wait for Scott Manley and Zack Golden to tell us what happened :) See you all for IFT-4!

[–] threelonmusketeers@sh.itjust.works 10 points 6 months ago (1 children)
[–] clothes@lemmy.world 4 points 6 months ago

Time to go scrub our bathroom floors to get the concept out of the universe's system.

[–] threelonmusketeers@sh.itjust.works 7 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (1 children)

Wayward boats again...

https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1768243304054092192

New liftoff time is 8:02 a.m. CT, team is clearing a few boats from the keep out area in the Gulf of Mexico

On the bright side, it's now scheduled for after sunrise, and the fog seems to be clearing!

Edit: https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1768246454328742222

Shifting T-0 a few more minutes to give boats time to clear the keep out area, now targeting 8:10 a.m. CT

[–] thedarkfly@feddit.nl 4 points 6 months ago

Dang boats, always disappoint. Hopefully it's for the best!

[–] threelonmusketeers@sh.itjust.works 7 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

Views of re-entry! Look at that plasma!

[–] reddithalation@sopuli.xyz 6 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

well, that was pretty good. i wonder why the booster reentry was oscilating so much, and the ship reentry didnt seem very controlled either. incredible video from the ship during reentry though.

[–] threelonmusketeers@sh.itjust.works 6 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

Booster survived the boostback burn this time!

Edit: Looks like there was an issue with re-entry and landing burn, but the booster made it further than last time!

[–] JohnDClay@sh.itjust.works 6 points 6 months ago

Looks like the ship lost roll control. It was re-entering pretty side on instead of belly first. Tim Dodd thought the hot gas thrusters may have gotten clogged with ice.

SECO and nominal orbit insertion for Starship!

[–] Tai@lemm.ee 6 points 6 months ago

Thanks to everyone posting in here, couldn't watch the webcast so it was good to catch up on everything that happened!

Onboard views from the booster and ship this time!

T-0 pushed by 30 minutes: https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1768231845551096149

Weather is 70% favorable for today’s third integrated flight test of Starship.

The live webcast will begin ~30 minutes before liftoff, which is currently targeted for 7:30 a.m. CT → https://www.spacex.com/launches/mission/?missionId=starship-flight-3

[–] RoundSparrow@sh.itjust.works 5 points 6 months ago

It is looking like it might go on first attempt!

[–] clothes@lemmy.world 5 points 6 months ago

That fog cleared fast!

[–] HootinNHollerin@lemmy.world 5 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

Everyday astronaut stream has a thermal camera showing fueling

[–] Robomekk@lemmy.ca 5 points 6 months ago (1 children)

I think this is the correct link for the SpaceX official feed on X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1LyxBnOvzvOxN

Looks like it's scheduled to start at 6:56 CDT now that launch is targeting 7:30 AM CDT.

Thanks! Added to the main post.

[–] RoundSparrow@sh.itjust.works 5 points 6 months ago

45 seconds in, amazing all engines look great

[–] thedarkfly@feddit.nl 4 points 6 months ago (1 children)

So I guess still no orbital flight for test 4? I imagine relighting an engine in space was a requirement.

Yeah, that would seem prudent. Wouldn't want a Starship stuck in orbit and then reentering uncontrollably, a la Long March 5B.

They just announced that the PEZ door is opening.

Hot Staging!

[–] Robomekk@lemmy.ca 4 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

Looks like some sort of fuelling is underway. Or at least chilling lines in the OLM and tower in preparation for filling.

[–] Sibbo@sopuli.xyz 4 points 6 months ago (1 children)

I can't watch any videos right now, how is it going?

[–] Wilshire@lemmy.world 7 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

Starship is descending into the atmosphere

Wings have just folded at 110km altitude

[–] Decronym@lemmy.decronym.xyz 3 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

Acronyms, initialisms, abbreviations, contractions, and other phrases which expand to something larger, that I've seen in this thread:

Fewer Letters More Letters
LOX Liquid Oxygen
MECO Main Engine Cut-Off
~ MainEngineCutOff podcast
OLM Orbital Launch Mount
SECO Second-stage Engine Cut-Off
Jargon Definition
Raptor Methane-fueled rocket engine under development by SpaceX

5 acronyms in this thread; the most compressed thread commented on today has 19 acronyms.

[Thread #36 for this sub, first seen 14th Mar 2024, 11:20] [FAQ] [Full list] [Contact] [Source code]

[–] threelonmusketeers@sh.itjust.works 3 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

Prop load soon!

https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1768251797846847981

The Starship team is go for prop load but keeping an eye on winds, now targeting 8:25 a.m. CT for liftoff

[–] Robomekk@lemmy.ca 3 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

Countdown and Flight Test Timeline (from SpaceX Site)

Countdown All times approximate Hr/Min/Sec Event

  • 01:15:00 SpaceX Flight Director conducts poll and verifies GO for propellant load
  • 00:53:00 Ship LOX (liquid oxygen) load underway
  • 00:51:00 Ship fuel (liquid methane) load underway
  • 00:42:00 Booster LOX load underway
  • 00:41:00 Booster fuel load underway
  • 00:19:40 Raptor begins engine chill on booster and ship
  • 00:03:30 Booster propellant load complete
  • 00:02:50 Ship propellant load complete
  • 00:00:30 SpaceX flight director verifies GO for launch
  • 00:00:10 Flame deflector activation
  • 00:00:03 Raptor ignition sequence begins
  • 00:00:00 Excitement guaranteed

Flight Test Timeline All times are approximate Hr/Min/Sec Event

  • 00:00:02 Liftoff
  • 00:00:52 Max Q (moment of peak mechanical stress on the rocket)
  • 00:02:42 Booster MECO (most engines cut off)
  • 00:02:44 Hot-staging (Starship Raptor ignition and stage separation)
  • 00:02:55 Booster boostback burn startup
  • 00:03:50 Booster boostback burn shutdown
  • 00:06:36 Booster is transonic
  • 00:06:46 Booster landing burn startup
  • 00:07:04 Booster landing burn shutdown
  • 00:08:35 Starship engine cutoff
  • 00:11:56 Payload door open
  • 00:24:31 Propellant transfer demo
  • 00:28:21 Payload door close
  • 00:40:46 Raptor in-space relight demo
  • 00:49:05 Starship entry
  • 01:02:16 Starship is transonic
  • 01:03:04 Starship is subsonic
  • 01:04:39 An exciting landing!
[–] clothes@lemmy.world 3 points 6 months ago

Launch time has been pushed 30 min (7:30 local). The window is 110 minutes.

[–] RoundSparrow@sh.itjust.works 3 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Starship is supposed to coast for the next 30 minutes, until T+ 40

[–] threelonmusketeers@sh.itjust.works 2 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Any news on the propellant transfer demo?

[–] RoundSparrow@sh.itjust.works 3 points 6 months ago

they announced it completed. Not sure if it worked as intended.

[–] threelonmusketeers@sh.itjust.works 3 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (1 children)

Hosted webcast is back. Payload door opening and propellant transfer were tested, still awaiting data review. Raptor relight imminent.

Edit: It sounds like Starship decided to skip the raptor relight. Going straight to reentry.

[–] clothes@lemmy.world 4 points 6 months ago

As much as I'd like for those rotations to be intentional, for now I'm assuming they didn't relight because they lost orientational control.

Prop load closed out. Winds are looking good.

SpaceX are live. Kate Tice and Siva Bharadvaj are hosting.

Prop load has started on ship and booster:

https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1768254337204260905

Propellant load of Starship’s upper stage is now underway

https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1768255938526626089

Prop load of the Super Heavy booster is underway