SpaceX is targeting Thursday for the third flight of Starship. The license from the FAA was acquired. The flight will feature several upgrades to Booster and Ship, as well as a modification of the flight path to the Indian Ocean, instead of Hawaii. In space, SpaceX plans to demonstrate the payload dispenser door, and the capability to relight a Raptor in Space. Additionally, SpaceX wants to demonstrate the capability of in-space cryogenic propellant transfer. The mission will attempt a soft splashdown of Booster 10 in the Gulf of Mexico, and a splashdown of Ship 28 in the Indian Ocean. Window Opens: March 14th at 7:00AM CDT (12:00 UTC) Window Closes: March 14th at 9:00AM CDT (14:00 UTC) Mission: Starship’s third fully integrated test flight Vehicles: Booster 10 and Ship 28 Booster Recovery: Booster will attempt a soft splashdown ~20km offshore simulating a landing back on the chopsticks. Ship Recovery: Ship will not be recovered but will attempt a controlled reentry and splashdown in the Indian Ocean. Stats: · SpaceX’s 26th launch of the year and the 7th launch of the month · SpaceX’s 3rd space launch from Starbase Forum link: https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=60478.0 SpaceX’s launch page: https://www.spacex.com/launches/mission/?missionId=starship-flight-3 NSF Starship merch: https://shop.nasaspaceflight.com/collections/starship-orbital-flight-test ⚡ Become a member of NASASpaceflight’s channel for exclusive discord access, fast turnaround clips, and other exclusive benefits. Your support helps us continue our 24/7 coverage. ⚡ 🔍 If you are interested in using footage captured by this stream, please review our content use policy: https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/content-use-policy/

Starship gave us quite a show during today’s first flight test of a fully integrated Starship and Super Heavy rocket from Starbase in Texas. At 8:33 a.m. CT, Starship successfully lifted off from the orbital launch pad for the first time. The vehicle cleared the pad and beach as Starship climbed to an apogee of ~39 km over the Gulf of Mexico – the highest of any Starship to-date. The vehicle experienced multiple engines out during the flight test, lost altitude, and began to tumble. The flight termination system was commanded on both the booster and ship. As is standard procedure, the pad and surrounding area was cleared well in advance of the test, and we expect the road and beach near the pad to remain closed until tomorrow. With a test like this, success comes from what we learn, and we learned a tremendous amount about the vehicle and ground systems today that will help us improve on future flights of Starship. Thank you to our customers, Cameron County, and the wider community for the continued support and encouragement. And congratulations to the entire SpaceX team on an exciting first flight test of Starship!