Chopstick tower will catch 171-foot rocket in mid-air:SpaceX to conduct Starship’s 14th test in August; Musk says – daily flights within a year

SpaceX is preparing to make history this month. If everything goes according to plan, the company will conduct the 14th test of its Starship before the end of August. In this test, SpaceX’s team will attempt to catch the upper part of Starship, called ‘Ship’, in mid-air using the launch tower. SpaceX is the company of the world’s richest businessman Elon Musk. The Starship spacecraft (upper part) and Super Heavy booster (lower part) are collectively called ‘Starship’. This vehicle is 403 feet tall. The upper part of Starship alone is 171 feet. Will catch ‘Ship’ with tower’s ‘chopstick’ arms At the Starbase site in South Texas, there are 2 launch towers equipped with large ‘chopstick’ arms. These assemble the Starship on the pad. These same towers are being prepared to catch the Starship. Earlier, SpaceX has accomplished the feat of catching the lower part booster of Starship in 3 test flights, but this will be the first attempt to catch the Ship. Starlink V3 satellites will also be deployed in space A batch of Starlink V3 satellites will be sent through Flight 14. These are larger and more capable than the existing satellites. In Flight 13 on July 24, 20 Starlink V3 satellites were sent, which were in sub-orbit. In Flight 14, they will be placed in operational orbit. Success of Flight 13 has increased company’s confidence Starship’s Flight 13 was launched on July 24. It was a sub-orbital flight. It was landed in the Indian Ocean. Musk stated that during Flight 13, the ship’s ‘heat shield’ remained completely safe while re-entering the atmosphere. The entire rocket is still safe today. The success of the heat shield has given the company the confidence to take the risk of a tower catch in Flight 14. Heat shield problem has been resolved, soon there will be 1 flight daily During SpaceX’s earnings call, Elon Musk made several important statements about Starship’s future and its pace. He said, “I don’t want to jinx it in any way, but I think at this juncture the heat shield problem is completely resolved.” He said, “We expect the pace of flights to increase very rapidly. Possibly a year from now we’ll be doing at least one flight per day, or maybe even more.” Knowledge Box: What is a ‘Heat Shield’ and why is it important? When a spacecraft re-enters Earth’s atmosphere from space, extreme heat is generated due to air friction. The temperature reaches thousands of degrees Celsius. A ‘Heat Shield’ is a protective layer applied to the outer part of the spacecraft. It is made of insulating material, which withstands this heat and protects the internal parts of the rocket from burning. For reusing the Starship, the heat shield remaining safe is the most essential condition.