SpaceX has shared photos of the new Super Heavy and Starship ahead of its sixth test flight. Both products were rolled out to the site on November 14 and began to be prepared for installation, after which the 122nd rocket, the largest and most powerful of those existing today, will be assembled on the launch pad. The test launch should take place on November 18 at 17:00 local time (November 19 at 01:00 μs).
Image source: Spacex
The company performed all previous Starship launches in the morning. Since Starship then descended into the ocean on the other side of the Earth, it was already night there, and this prevented visual observation of the moment of splashdown. Therefore, the sixth test launch will be made nine hours later to observe the ship’s descent into the ocean in daylight.
The fifth test launch of Starship became a landmark – the launch farm was able to pick up the first stage the first time, which returned to the launch site with the greatest precision. Later, Elon Musk admitted that the situation was one step away from disaster, but it was miraculously avoided. For the sixth test run, the firmware of the stage’s signaling equipment was changed to take into account the identified feature, so there is no longer any risk of a recurrence of this situation.
In general, during the sixth test launch the tasks will be the same as during the fifth flight – the equipment and the rocket must consolidate the success. Additionally, the ship will be tested for various descent scenarios during the final stage of flight – for which it will try to control the orientation with flaps. In the meantime, while waiting for the launch, you can admire views of the rocket and ship before assembly.