#StarshipAimsForThursdayLaunch

Starship Flight 13 Is a Defining Mission for Space Exploration SpaceX will take another swing at history July 23 when it targets a launch attempt for Starship Flight 13. After a July 16 launch attempt was scrubbed minutes before ignition due to issues with the July 16 launch attempt of the most powerful rocket system ever constructed to be fully reusable on all flights, another shot at an ascent and test of Starship's systems is ready to proceed with yet another critical flight test. One of the largest engineering and financial undertakings in modern aerospace history is underway with Starship, the entirely reusable spacecraft that SpaceX hopes will eventually be capable of launching anything from communications satellites to the first manned mission to another planet at an affordable cost.

SpaceX plans this latest Flight 13 mission of its Mars-worthy starship and the world's first two-stage-fully-reusable rocket with 20 V3 starlink satellites, and they are looking for a test of in-space engine relight technologies.

The recent scrubbing indicates just how complex rocket launch operations can be, and just how many checks, tests, and iterations are required to get an advanced rocket such as Starship ready for flight. Following an in-flight engine shutdown and the first Starship ascent vehicle test in March, and now Starship's first satellite load demonstration, the company's progress toward a more frequent and flexible cadence of launches appears closer than ever. Since then, SpaceX engineers have worked to refine propulsion systems based on previous tests. Starship's success could potentially reshape the global economy and accelerate a number of other business sectors through commercialization of low Earth orbit and the rapid growth of the global satellite ecosystem.

There are few areas in technology that compete with its disruptive potential, including, for example, AI and quantum computing.

But of course space still is a very harsh environment, as has always been, to explore. Space companies need to conduct a whole series of test flights. The future is what drives Space Exploration.

It's not just the engineers and scientists behind each launch. That’s what they make it for... Starship can also prove very beneficial to the business world: its success in delivering to low Earth orbit will allow other commercial satellites to have cheaper delivery options to the atmosphere, lowering costs for every other launch and thus stimulating global satellite adoption.

Would Starship turn into the single most important space technology for the next decade?

‍#SpaceX #GateSquare