SpaceX is currently gearing up to test tenth tenth flight of its biggest Starship rocket from its headquarters in Starbase, Texas, targeting lift off on Sunday, August 24.
The flight will use Ship 37 and Booster 16, with goals including several landing burn tests, reentry experiments, and payload deployment.
The payload consists of eight Starlink simulators, replicating this-generation satellites.
SpaceX further aims to relight a Raptor engine in orbit, a great achievement missed on past flights due to several issues.
A post-flight assessment of Flight 9 discovered that Ship 35 lost because of pressurization system diffuser failure.
The company’s engineers regenerated the abnormality during ground tests. Meanwhile, Ship 36 detonated in June during fueling at the Massey facility, traced to a failed pressure vessel.
Following the explosion, SpaceX brought stricter inspections.
On the booster side, Flight 9’s Booster 14 successfully accomplished a controlled flip; however, it failed during its landing burn.
The company attributed the failure that occurred during fueling to structural stress on the fuel transfer tube.
For Flight 10, Booster 16 will land on water with updated engine tests.
Despite facing several setbacks, NASA remains hopeful in SpaceX’s progress toward Artemis 3, the planned 2027 lunar landing .
