
SpaceX scrubbed a planned Starship launch of its latest and largest megarocket. The attempt would have been the 12th flight test and the first demonstration of the Starship V3 design. A second attempt could occur as soon as Friday. The V3 configuration is taller, provides more than 18 million pounds of total thrust, and uses new Raptor 3 engines. SpaceX reported spending about $3 billion in the last year developing Starship out of a total $15 billion. The fully stacked system is about 408 feet tall and is designed to lift up to 100 metric tons to orbit and be fully reusable. This test will not recover the booster or rocket and will not enter Earth orbit, focusing on launch and separation performance.
"SpaceX on Thursday scrubbed the planned launch of the latest and largest version of its Starship megarocket the tallest and most powerful rocket ever. The launch is due to be the 12th flight test of Starship and the first demonstration of its V3 design. The company said a second attempt could come as soon as Friday."
"For those who think this is simply another repeat test flight, the engineering changes under the rocket hood' are substantial, Joseph Gonzalez, an associate professor of practice in aerospace engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and a former engineer for NASA's Artemis program, told Scientific American before the launch attempt. V3 is taller, exceeds 18 million pounds of total thrust and introduces the new Raptor 3 engines, he explained."
"According to SpaceX's recent filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ahead of their upcoming initial public offering, the company has spent some $3 billion in the last year alone developing Starship out of a total $15 billion. Fully stacked with SpaceX's Super Heavy booster, the vehicle stands some 408 feet (124 meters) tall and is designed to loft as much as 100 metric tons of cargo into orbit and be fully reusable."
"This test however, will not attempt to recover the booster or rocket. The test, which will not enter Earth orbit, aims to show that Starship V3 can successfully launch, separate from"
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