"On Monday, SpaceX's launch team loaded more than 11 million pounds (more than 5,000 metric tons) of super-cold methane and liquid oxygen into both stages of the rocket after halting a previous fueling attempt Saturday night due to a technical issue. The launch rehearsal followed a test-firing of the booster's 33 Raptor engines at the launch site on May 6, the first time SpaceX ignited a full complement of uprated Raptor 3s."
"At liftoff, the rocket is expected to produce some 18 million pounds of thrust, about 10 percent more than the previous generation of Super Heavy boosters, according to specifications previously released by SpaceX. The scale is staggering. For example, in Version 3, the internal transfer tube that channels methane fuel from the top of the booster to the engine compartment is about the same size as the first stage of SpaceX's workhorse Falcon 9 rocket, which is roughly 12 feet (3.7 meters) in diameter."
"The upcoming flight will also mark the first liftoff from a new launch pad at Starbase, about 1,000 feet (300 meters) west of the departure point for all of SpaceX's past Starship test flights. This will be the 12th full-scale Starship test flight, and the first since last October, after delays in readying V3 for its first launch."
"Like most prior Starship flights, the upper stage of the rocket will target a controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean a little more than an hour into the mission. On future flights of Starship V3, SpaceX will attempt to bring the ship back to Starbase for a catch by the launch tower's mechanical arms, as the company has already demonstrated with the rocket's massive Super Heavy booster. One change SpaceX is introducing on this launch is a more southerly flight path over the Gulf of Mexico, taking the rocket between the northeastern coast of the Yucatan Peninsula and the western tip of Cuba, instead of over the Florida Straits."
SpaceX loaded more than 11 million pounds of super-cold methane and liquid oxygen into both stages of the Starship rocket after pausing a prior fueling attempt due to a technical issue. A launch rehearsal followed a May 6 test-firing of the booster’s 33 Raptor engines, the first full ignition of uprated Raptor 3s. At liftoff, the rocket is expected to generate about 18 million pounds of thrust, roughly 10% more than earlier Super Heavy versions. The flight will use a new Starbase launch pad about 1,000 feet west of prior Starship test-flight departure points. The upper stage will aim for controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean after a little more than an hour, while future V3 flights plan a return to Starbase for mechanical-arm capture. The trajectory will shift south over the Gulf of Mexico between the Yucatan and western Cuba.
Read at Ars Technica
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