Musk: 3rd Starship/Superheavy test launch expected in early March
According to a tweet on X by Elon Musk, the third test flight of SpaceX’s heavy-lift Starship/Superheavy rocket is now expected in about three weeks, in early March.
The rocket is presently on the launchpad, undergoing final tests.
This confirms my December prediction that the launch would not happen earlier than March. SpaceX was ready to launch in January, but as I predicted red tape in the federal government have left the rocket sitting on the ground.
However, that prediction may have been too optimistic. First, SpaceX has still not gotten its launch license from the FAA, with no word from that agency when it will rubber-stamp SpaceX’s investigation into the second test launch in November. Second, the lawsuit by activists challenging the right of local authorities to close beaches at Boca Chica for launches remains active. It is very possible those activists will be successful in getting the court to issue an injunction preventing any beach closures (and thus launches) while the case is being litigated. If so, the next test launch could be months away.
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According to a tweet on X by Elon Musk, the third test flight of SpaceX’s heavy-lift Starship/Superheavy rocket is now expected in about three weeks, in early March.
The rocket is presently on the launchpad, undergoing final tests.
This confirms my December prediction that the launch would not happen earlier than March. SpaceX was ready to launch in January, but as I predicted red tape in the federal government have left the rocket sitting on the ground.
However, that prediction may have been too optimistic. First, SpaceX has still not gotten its launch license from the FAA, with no word from that agency when it will rubber-stamp SpaceX’s investigation into the second test launch in November. Second, the lawsuit by activists challenging the right of local authorities to close beaches at Boca Chica for launches remains active. It is very possible those activists will be successful in getting the court to issue an injunction preventing any beach closures (and thus launches) while the case is being litigated. If so, the next test launch could be months away.
Readers!
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. Your support allows me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Only now does it appear that Washington might finally recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
I cannot figure out what the political calculation is for the democrat ruling machine. Do they see Elon as a formidable adversary who can sway congressional and senate races away from their candidates? Is there a deal in the making where Elon mutes himself politically in return for clearance to test Starship.
Steve Richter: There is no political calculation from the Democrats. They now are ruled by irrational hatred of anyone who disagrees with them, and an unbridled lust for power. It makes them do stupid things, which sadly might work because too many Americans still refuse to pay attention.
The last publicly available information was that SpaceX has not itself closed out the investigation into IFT-2 and provided their report to the FAA. That info is a couple weeks old now, but I haven’t heard any announcement that they’ve closed it out since then. Obviously they’re not expecting to need any significant actions and are hoping for a very quick turn-around from the FAA if they’re pushing for a WDR this week.
“… There is no political calculation from the Democrats. ..”
Strongly disagree with this. Sure, there are the radical leftists, the shut it all down environmentalists, BLM, riot and destroy Antifa – they all cannot be reasoned with. The ruling democrats – they have and they want to keep control of the country in their hands. These people would make a deal with Elon.
The accepted idea that Biden cannot think straight is just wrong. Who do we think has been holding all of these democrat groups in place during the last 4 years? There have been no Antifa riots. Even with Gaza, the pro Palestinian groups have been held in check. Biden has benefited from a long career being involved in power politics. Experience really matters. Biden left the Fed alone the last 2 years to do what had to be done to reduce inflation. The war on Russia, as misguided and unnecessary as it is, has been effectively done politically.
Getting back to SpaceX and Elon. In the Mossberg book Elon has good working relationships with the people who run the Biden admin. And yeah, Biden cannot remember what he had for breakfast. But he does have a chief of staff who gets done what Biden wants.
Court orders Musk to testify before SEC.
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/02/court-orders-elon-musk-to-testify-for-sec-rejects-his-claim-of-harassment/
I doubt President Biden considers SpaceX particularly. He’s never shown much interest in space to my recollection.
But that doesn’t mean that the beast & bureaucrats that are the Federal Government aren’t. And bureaucrats are always interested in expanding the power & influence their rice bowls. Combined with a religious certainty that expenditures of hydrocarbons are inherently evil & a messianic fervor to “save the planet”, all they have to do is gum up the works. There’s a million ways to do that.
Steve Richter – “Who do we think has been holding all of these democrat groups in place during the last 4 years?”
Obama of course (via Jarrett and Rice). And if the Democrats don’t cheat effectively enough to win the White House next time, he’ll loose the dogs of war again, you can bet on it!