Welcome to the /c/SpaceX Integrated Flight Test 2 Official Launch Discussion & Updates Thread!
| Scheduled for (UTC) | 2023-11-18 13:00 |
|---|---|
| Scheduled for (local) | 2023-11-18 07:00 (CST) |
| Launch Window (UTC) | 2023-11-18 13:00 to 2023-11-18 13:20 (20 minutes) |
| Weather | Good |
| Launch site | OLM-A, SpaceX Starbase, TX, USA. |
| Booster | B9 |
| Ship | S25 |
| Booster landing | B9 to perform a soft water landing in the Gulf of Mexico |
| Ship landing | S25 expected to impact Pacific Ocean near Hawaii |
Webcasts
| Stream | Link |
|---|---|
| Everyday Astronaut (4k and low latency) | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6na40SqzYnU |
| Spaceflight Now | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-LFzFWaACo |
| LabPadre | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwhcSwQWOHk |
| NASASpaceflight | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOI35G7cP7o |
| The Launch Pad | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0K0uSDE6ks |
| Space Affairs | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XbmBspvaHE |
| SpaceX | https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1725852544587727145#m |
| The Space Devs | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CREQ3e2Li34 |
Stats
☑️ 2nd Starship Full Stack launch
☑️ 299th SpaceX launch all time
☑️ 86th SpaceX launch this year
☑️ 2nd launch from OLM-A this year
☑️ 211 days, 23:27:00 turnaround for this pad
Stats include F1, F9 , FH and Starship
Mission Details 🚀
- SpaceX website (archived 2023-11-16): Starship’s Second Flight Test (archived)
- SpaceX website (archived 2023-11-18): Starship’s Second Flight Test (archived)
- SpaceX website (archived 2023-11-22): Starship’s Second Flight Test (archived)
- SpaceX website (current): Starship’s Second Flight Test
And he’s now done a more in-depth analysis: Starship & Superheavy Become The Biggest Rocket In Space… Before Exploding
He speculates that B9 engine failure during boostback was due to either fuel slosh, fluid hammer, or a combination of both. It’s unclear whether the booster FTS was triggered or whether the Booster RUD happened on its own.
For S25, he notes that a puff of gas just after T+7 minutes coincides with a drop in the LOx gauge. This indicates an oxygen leak of some sort, which could have any number of causes.