The 9th test of the world’s most powerful rocket Starship will take place tomorrow, i.e., on May 28 at 5 am as per Indian time. The rocket will be launched from Boca Chica, Texas. In this test, for the first time, the booster used in the 7th test will be reused. Earlier, in the 8th test, the booster had landed, but the ship blasted in the sky. This rocket has been built by SpaceX, the company of the world’s richest businessman Elon Musk. The Starship spacecraft (upper part) and the Super Heavy booster (lower part) are collectively called ‘Starship’. The height of this vehicle is 403 feet. It is completely reusable. In this test, the booster will not be brought back to the launchpad to protect the launch infrastructure. It will have a hard landing in the Gulf of America. The entire test will be of 1.06 hours. Mission objective: To remove deficiencies and necessary experiments Seventh test: Booster returned to the launchpad; But the spacecraft exploded in the sky. The seventh test of Starship on 17 January 2025 was also not completely successful. 8 minutes after launch, the booster (lower part) separated and came back to the launch pad, but the ship (upper part) exploded due to oxygen leak. Sixth test: When there was a problem in landing on the launchpad, it was landed on water, Trump was also present. The sixth test of Starship was done on 20 November 2024 at 03:30 am. America’s newly elected President Donald Trump also reached Starbase to watch the test. In this test, the booster was to be caught back on the launchpad after launching, but due to all the parameters not being right, it was decided to land it in the water. The engine of Starship was restarted in space. After this, landing took place in the Indian Ocean. Fifth test: For the first time, the booster was caught on the launchpad. The fifth test of Starship was done on 13 October 2024. In this test, the Super Heavy Booster sent 96 Km above the Earth was brought back to the launchpad, which was caught by Mackilla. Mackilla is two metal arms that look like chopsticks. At the same time, Starship was re-entered into the Earth’s atmosphere and then a controlled landing was made in the Indian Ocean. When Starship entered the Earth’s atmosphere, its speed was 26,000 kilometers per hour and the temperature reached 1,430 ° C. Fourth Test: Starship was taken into space, then landed in water The fourth test of Starship was done on 6 June 2024, which was successful. This 1.05 hour mission was launched from Boca Chica at 6.20 pm. In this, Starship was taken into space, then brought back to Earth and landed on water. The main goal of the test was to see whether Starship is able to survive during entry into the Earth’s atmosphere or not. After the test, the company’s owner Elon Musk said, ‘Despite the loss of several tiles and a damaged flap, Starship made a soft landing in the sea.’ Third test: Contact with Starship was lost after reentry This test was conducted on March 14, 2024. SpaceX had said that Starship could not survive during reentry, but it achieved many important achievements during the flight. At the same time, Elon Musk said that he hopes that half a dozen Starships will fly this year. Second test: There was a malfunction after stage separation The second test of Starship was done on November 18, 2023 at around 6:30 pm. About 2.4 minutes after launch, the separation of Super Heavy Booster and Starship took place. The booster was to land back on Earth, but after 3.2 minutes it exploded 90 Km above. At the same time, Starship proceeded as per the plan. About 8 minutes later, the Starship also malfunctioned 148 km above the Earth, due to which it had to be destroyed. It was destroyed through the flight termination system. In the second test, the hot staging process was used for the first time to separate the rocket and the Starship, which was completely successful. All 33 Raptor engines also fired properly from launch to separation. First test: Exploded 4 minutes after launch The first orbital test of Starship was conducted on 20 April 2023. Booster 7 and Ship 24 were launched in this test. Starship exploded 30 km above the Gulf of Mexico just 4 minutes after takeoff. Even after the Starship failed, Elon Musk and the employees were celebrating. This is because the rocket flying from the launch pad itself was a big success. Musk had said two days before the launch – success may be achieved, but excitement is guaranteed. SpaceX had said – a part of it suddenly separated before the separation stage, while it was not fixed. With such a test, what we learn leads to success. Today’s test will help us improve the reliability of Starship. The teams will continue to review the data and work towards the next flight test. Starship System What can Starship do? Starship will take humans to Mars This launch is important because this spaceship will make humans interplanetary. That is, with its help, for the first time a human will set foot on a planet other than Earth. Musk wants to take humans to Mars by 2029 and establish a colony there. The spaceship will also be able to take humans to any corner of the world in less than an hour. What is the need to establish a colony on Mars? On the need to establish a colony on Mars, Elon Musk says, ‘A life ending event on Earth can lead to the end of humanity, but if we build our base on Mars, humanity can survive there.’ Millions of years ago, the dinosaurs on Earth also ended due to a life ending event. At the same time, Professor Stephen Hawking also said in 2017 that if humans want to survive, they will have to expand within 100 years. Starship spacecraft is part of the Artemis program. It is also important for this mission to be successful because Starship spacecraft is a part of NASA’s Artemis program. Through this, humans will return to the Moon after 5 decades. Starship will complete the final phase of the mission on the Moon. It will take the astronaut from the spacecraft to the lunar orbit and will also land on the Moon.
