Musk magic tonight; Trump to witness Starship's sixth test? Science world keeps an eye out

 

 

Texas: American private space agency Elon Musk and SpaceX are set to amaze the world again! The sixth test of the world's largest and most powerful Starship mega rocket will take place today. SpaceX has planned a half-hour launch window starting at 4.00 pm American Central Time (3:30 am tomorrow Indian time) in South Texas. It is reported that US President Donald Trump may witness this rare moment in person.

Starship is designed to be a fully reusable launch vehicle. In addition to repeating the scientific magic of the fifth test, which saw the Starship mega-rocket’s booster stage being retrieved and held in mid-air by robotic arms after launch, Elon Musk has a few other goals in mind for the sixth test day. One of these is the ambitious attempt to ignite one of Starship’s six Raptor engines in space. This is a technology that will be needed for future launches beyond Earth orbit.

SpaceX aims to expand the envelope of Starship, increase booster capacity, fully control the reusability of the Starship mega rocket online, and conduct heat shield experiments on the upper stage in the sixth test phase. SpaceX is preparing for Starship's sixth test by increasing the power of the propulsion system and making updates to the hardware and software.