Starship's fourth launch: SpaceX aims for historic rocket recovery
If no unforeseen difficulties arise, the biggest rocket in the world will launch today, Thursday, June 6, after 1:00 PM Greenwich Time. This will be Starship's fourth flight, and the event will be broadcast on YouTube.
Starship is scheduled to launch from a base in Texas. SpaceX has announced that the launch window for the fourth flight of the most giant rocket will open at 12:00 PM local time and will last two hours, which means it will be 1:00 PM Greenwich Time. The latest SpaceX updates indicate the vehicle will launch at 1:50 PM Greenwich Time. The plan includes reaching low Earth orbit and re-entry into the atmosphere.
Fourth Starship flight
The complete Starship system measures approximately 120 metres in height and consists of two stages. The first stage is about 70 metres tall and is powered by 33 Raptor engines fueled by liquid methane and oxygen. The Starship vehicle is around 50 metres tall and powered by 6 Raptor units.
Right after the start procedure begins, the fourth flight will head east. The plan assumes that the Starship will separate from the booster in less than 3 minutes after liftoff. SpaceX plans to discard the ring used to connect the two stages when the booster approaches landing—this will help reduce mass and allow the booster to be stopped in the ocean.
For Elon Musk's company, the fourth Starship mission is essential to discover if it can recover both rocket stages after a successful flight. The main goal is to properly conduct the engine restart procedure in the Super Heavy booster and control the Starship's re-entry into the atmosphere. SpaceX has made several changes to the rocket's components compared to previous Starship missions. SpaceX primarily discusses additional equipment in the liquid oxygen tanks that power the engines. The enhanced version of Starship also includes additional manoeuvring engines.
Let's recall that during the previous test flight on March 14, 2024, Starship re-entered the atmosphere from space but was ultimately destroyed. Despite this, SpaceX engineers gathered a wealth of information that helped the company implement further improvements before the fourth rocket flight. The last test also evaluated the opening and closing of the cargo bay and demonstrated how the spacecraft handles fuel transfer in microgravity conditions.
