Starship is Preparing for its 4th Test Flight, and Boeing is Trying AGAIN

Happy Tuesday, everyone! This week’s newsletter is 820 words, a 6-minute read.

Table of Contents

• 1 Big Thing: We’ll be Getting Starship’s 4th-Ever …

• 2. Cool Stuff You Might Have Missed

• 3. Boeing’s First Crewed Test Flight was Scrubbed …

• 4. A Brand-New Space Book

• 5. Upcoming Launches & Missions

1 Big Thing: We’ll be Getting Starship’s 4th-Ever Launch Soon

Starship’s 4th-Ever Test Flight is heating up.

Wet Dress Rehearsal: On Monday, May 20th, SpaceX completed a wet dress rehearsal of its fourth Starship launch vehicle.

• The “wet dress rehearsal” is a crucial step in preparing a rocket for launch.

• SpaceX engineers filled both of the rocket’s stages with its liquid methane fuel and liquid oxygen oxidizer.

Good to Go: There were no issues with the wet dress rehearsal, so SpaceX can move on to the next stages of pre-flight testing and certification.

Past Attempts: Starship has flown three test flights so far, with each flight being more successful than the last.

New Goals: SpaceX is hoping that Starship will survive reentry into Earth’s atmosphere.

• In its third test flight on March 14th of this year, Starship had a successful stage separation and began to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere.

• Starship experienced issues and broke apart on re-entry.

Re-entry is Crucial: As a super-heavy crew transport vehicle, perhaps the most important part of Starship’s launch is atmospheric reentry. In the future, SpaceX will “hop” between Earth and Mars and successfully navigate the perils of slamming into the planets’ atmospheres while going tens of thousands of miles per hour.

Looking Ahead: Starship is expected to launch 2 weeks or so from today, so maybe around April 4th or 5th.

• SpaceX needs to receive FAA clearance to launch - a formality, but one that could potentially delay the highly-anticipated test flight for a few more weeks.

2. Cool Stuff You Might Have Missed

1. Perseverance Rover may have found evidence for ancient life on Mars. (Space)

2. America’s first black astronaut candidate finally went to space - at 90 years old. (NPR)

3. Ariane 6’s inaugural launch is slated for this July. (SpaceNews)

3. Boeing’s First Crewed Test Flight was Scrubbed Yet Again

Boeing’s Highly-Anticipated Crewed Starliner Launch was scheduled for last Friday, May 17th, but was scrubbed again due to mechanical issues.

Pesky Helium: This time, Boeing and ULA were forced to delay their launch because of a helium leak in the service module.

• ULA stand for United Launch Alliance - it’s a legendary joint space venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin.

• Since its inception in 2006, ULA has flown 155 missions with a 100% success rate.

Crucial Mission: This flight is the final “test” before NASA can fully certify Boeing’s Starliner capsule to ferry astronauts to and from the International Space Station.

Short Stay: Once this mission does finally launch, astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams will spend a week at the International Space Station before returning to Earth in the southwestern U.S.

Hurry up and Wait: Boeing was awarded NASA’s Commercial Crew contract over a decade ago, alongside SpaceX.

• Since 2020, SpaceX has successfully flown eight crewed missions for NASA and four more private crewed missions.

• Boeing is yet to successfully launch astronauts to space in its Starliner capsule.

Elephant in the Room: There are obvious concerns - especially among the general public - with the launch, given Boeing’s not-so-shiny track record with its airplanes lately.

Looking Ahead, Hopefully: Boeing’s launch date is set tentatively for this Saturday, May 25th, but we’ll see if they’re able to follow through on it this time.

4. A Brand-New Space Book

Today (May 14th, 2024) is an exciting day.

Adam Higginbotham just released his new book, “Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space.”

The Book Tells the fascinating and heartbreaking story of the Space Shuttle Challenger, which broke apart on January 28th, 1986 73 seconds after launch, killing all seven astronauts on board.

I Picked This Up on Kindle today, and I’m so excited to read it. You can check it out here:

5. Upcoming Launches & Missions

SPECIAL EXCITING NEWS: If you refer just 3 friends (used to be 5, now it’s 3) to this newsletter, I’ll send you a free copy of Neil deGrasse Tyson’s A Brief Welcome to the Universe. Use the link below to share and get credit for your referrals!

Thanks as always,

-Michael