Engineers of Elon Musk’s company announced on the social network X that SpaceX has completed a launch rehearsal for the fourth Starship flight. The transportation system was fully fueled during the event.
Musk commented on SpaceX’s post about the rehearsal of the Starship launch, noting that the next Starship flight will take place in about two weeks, and its main goal will be to reach the point of maximum heating during the ship’s reentry into the atmosphere.
Starship Flight 4 in about 2 weeks.
The primary objective is to survive maximum re-entry heating.
Worth noting that no one has ever succeeded in creating a fully reusable heat shield. Shuttle required >6 months of rework. https://t.co/4ffEHSLRbu
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 20, 2024
“An ultra-reliable, lightweight and reusable heat shield is the most important technical challenge remaining for Starship. It is worth noting that no one has ever managed to create a fully reusable heat shield. The Space Shuttle required more than six months of repairs,” Musk wrote.
