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

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[–] threelonmusketeers 11 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 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 10 points 8 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 4 points 8 months ago

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

[–] threelonmusketeers 7 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

Views of re-entry! Look at that plasma!

[–] threelonmusketeers 7 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 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

[–] [email protected] 4 points 8 months ago

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

[–] threelonmusketeers 6 points 8 months ago

SECO and nominal orbit insertion for Starship!

[–] [email protected] 6 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 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.

[–] JohnDClay 6 points 8 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.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 8 months ago

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

[–] threelonmusketeers 6 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 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!

[–] threelonmusketeers 5 points 8 months ago

Onboard views from the booster and ship this time!

[–] RoundSparrow 5 points 8 months ago

It is looking like it might go on first attempt!

[–] [email protected] 5 points 8 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.

[–] threelonmusketeers 2 points 8 months ago

Thanks! Added to the main post.

[–] threelonmusketeers 5 points 8 months ago

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

[–] [email protected] 5 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

Everyday astronaut stream has a thermal camera showing fueling

[–] [email protected] 5 points 8 months ago

That fog cleared fast!

[–] RoundSparrow 5 points 8 months ago

45 seconds in, amazing all engines look great

[–] threelonmusketeers 4 points 8 months ago

Hot Staging!

[–] [email protected] 4 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

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

[–] threelonmusketeers 4 points 8 months ago

They just announced that the PEZ door is opening.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 8 months ago (1 children)

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

[–] [email protected] 7 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

Starship is descending into the atmosphere

Wings have just folded at 110km altitude

[–] threelonmusketeers 4 points 8 months ago
[–] [email protected] 4 points 8 months ago (1 children)

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

[–] threelonmusketeers 3 points 8 months ago

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

[–] [email protected] 3 points 8 months ago

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

[–] RoundSparrow 3 points 8 months ago (1 children)

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

[–] threelonmusketeers 2 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Any news on the propellant transfer demo?

[–] RoundSparrow 3 points 8 months ago

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

[–] threelonmusketeers 3 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 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

[–] [email protected] 3 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 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!
[–] threelonmusketeers 3 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 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.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 8 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.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 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 2 points 8 months ago

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

[–] threelonmusketeers 2 points 8 months ago

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

[–] threelonmusketeers 2 points 8 months ago

Prop load closed out. Winds are looking good.