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The SpaceX Starship launches its 11th test flight from Starbas, Texas, 2025. October 13 | Credit: SpaceX
The largest and most powerful rocket ever built is about to increase.
Monday (October 13), SpaceX released 11th test flight From its Starship Megarocket by sending a 403 -foot (124 meter) vehicle from its Starbas, South Texas.
The suborbital flight was a complete success. Both of them Star ship“Hard heavy and Starship (or” ship “for a short) top scene – returned to its ultra -heavy amplifier and Starship (or” Ship ” The land For splashes marked. The ship was also able to re -dive into one of its motors in space and deploy eight dummy useful cargo.
The 11 flight was a big moment of the Starship program and not just because everything went so well. It was also a Swan song, the last rise of the 2 version of the vehicle.
“Focusing now turns to the next generation of Starship and Super Heavy, and several vehicles are currently being actively constructed and prepared for tests,” wrote SpaceX a 11 Flight Wrapping;
“This other iteration will be used for the first Starship Orbital flights, service useful load missions, screw transfer, and more when we repeat the vehicle that serves the orbit of the Earth’s orbit completely and more quickly The moonMars and beyond, ”the company added.
Another iteration is Starship version 3, which will be about 5 feet (1.5 m) higher than its predecessor. The V3 will look similar to the V2, but there will be a big difference in the “under the hood,” said Dan Hoto, a spokesman for SpaceX on Monday Flight 11.
For example, the V3 ship -driving system has been redesigned to allow the Raptor 3, a new, more poacon version that controls both stages of Starship. (Super Heavy has 33 Raptors and the ship has six.)
“We also get energy storage updates, many changes to avionics-most things that will enable long-term missions,” Huot said.
“One noticeable thing you will start to see outside are the new dock adapters that we will use when we bring two star ships to transmit a rocket propeller,” he added. “This is the main Starship option we will show next year.”
Indeed, the transfer of fuel in space is an essential part of any Starship deep space mission. A ship’s upper stage bound to the moon or Mars Launched with a minimum volume of screw on board (to save mass for useful loads), so it will need to meet several “tankers” boats in the Earth’s orbit to create.
Meanwhile, the V3 Super Heavy features a transformed fuel transmission tube, a giant metal structure that directs the cryogenic liquid methane and liquid oxygen to the Raptor amplifier.
“New amplifiers will also have an integrated hot scene, much more ventilation and is designed to be completely re -used,” Huot said. (Hot scene marks the intersection of Super Heavy and Ship; “Hot” part states that the ship starts shooting the engines until completely separated from the amplifier.)
The V3 Super Heavy will also have only three mesh fins-waffle-like structures that help Booster direct the ground to land precisely, not V2 four.
“However, they are 50% larger – much greater force,” Hot said. “They also intend to use vehicle lifting and catch.”
Lifting and catching will be done by the Starship Launcher’s Chopstick hand. These weapons lift and very heavy on the starter holder, and they will also catch both vehicles when they return home after lifting. (SpaceX performed three such The rod catches up With Super Sunter so far, but hasn’t tried it yet with the boat.)
All 11 Starship trial flights rose from Starbas orbital launch 1 mountain. That pallet will be crossed, but it will be reviewed to apply the Starship V3.
“Among many other things, we are installing a new Orbital Launch Mount, a new flame trench system and updating the Coptacks future catch,” said Jake Berkowitz, a Spacex main drive engineer at the SPACEX Main Education. “So, until it’s completed, we’ll run the starts from 2 ‘pad 2’, which will soon be logged in.”
Related stories:
– SpaceX launches the giant Starship Rocket for Moon and Mars 11th Test Flight (Video)
– Starship and Super Heavy explained
– Starship Mars Rocket met with “each main goal” at the beginning of the Epic Flight 10 test, says SpaceX
Starship V3 will be able to fly to Mars and can do it next year if the trials continue to be fine: the founder and CEO of SpaceX Elon Musk has said that the company would like to run a A small fleet of innocent stars to the Red Planet at other options, which occurs in 2026. At the end of the end. (Earth and Mars properly match interplanetary missions only once every 26 months.)
For a long time, however, SpaceX plans to rely on an even larger and more powerful star that is 466 feet (142 m) and 42 Raptors, not the current 39. It is expected that this V4 is expected to make its debut in 2027. Musk said;
2027 SpaceX and NASA can be an important year. This is when the agency seeks to start its own Artemis 3 a mission that will first descend on the moon from Apollo Era. That epic mission Lunar Lander will be Starship Upper Stage.