Watch Starship roar again this morning as SpaceX gets a last-minute launch license from FAA

A few days ago, SpaceX scheduled a Thursday livestream on X (formerly Twitter) for the third test flight of its Starship rocket. In late February, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) officially closed the mishap investigation of a previous flight, however, it was yet to grant SpaceX a launch license for another test attempt.

Ultimately, with less than 24 hours to the scheduled launch, the FAA issued the license and greenlit Starship for its third roar, CNBC reports.

Currently, the third test flight of the world’s biggest space rocket is planned for Thursday morning. The 110-minute launch window opens at 8:00 a.m. ET. As usual, a lot of spaceflight enthusiasts will stream the launch from Boca Chica, Texas. SpaceX’s official live stream will start 30 minutes before liftoff on X:

SpaceX emphasizes that this is still just a test, and things can go wrong during testing. Actually, they do go wrong at some point most of the time, as we could have seen during both the first and second flights. Unlike NASA, the company of Elon Musk prefers testing things in a flight environment to collect invaluable data that helps to accelerate development:

“The third flight test aims to build on what we’ve learned from previous flights while attempting a number of ambitious objectives, including the successful ascent burn of both stages, opening and closing Starship’s payload door, a propellant transfer demonstration during the upper stage’s coast phase, the first ever re-light of a Raptor engine while in space, and a controlled reentry of Starship.”

Starship will also fly an adjusted trajectory, splashing down in the Indian Ocean. SpaceX says the new flight path enables it to attempt new techniques like in-space engine burns while maximizing public safety.

Elon Musk hopes SpaceX can fly Starship more frequently in 2024 after being limited to just two flights in 2023. “Hopefully, at least 6 more flights this year,” he said.

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