Super Heavy / Starship IFT-2 Launches

    On November 18 th at 7:02am CST, SpaceX successfully launched its massive Super Heavy / Starship on its second test flight. The 397-foot-tall rocket, powered by 33 Raptor engines producing 16.7 million pounds of thrust, thundered off its launch mount in Boca Chica Texas then headed southeast.
The last phase of countdown began two hours before planned launch time with polling of launch control before proceeding with fueling. At one hour, 37-minutes before T-Zero, chilled methane and LOX began to load on the 232-foot-tall Super Heavy Booster 9. Twenty minutes later, methane flowed into Starship, clad in part with black heat tiles. followed by LOX. Frost and vapors formed around the stainless-steel vehicle. Nearly full, engine chill down for both stages began at T-19 minutes, 40 seconds. Following tank pressurization, water began to flow from the steel deflector with ten seconds left to go. Super Heavy engines came to life at T-3 seconds; steam and exhaust surrounded the rocket. It rose from its mount five seconds later, emerging from its cloud; sound thundered across South Texas.
   The largest rocket ever flown reached Max Q at T+55 seconds, the time of greatest aerodynamic pressures. Past the significant milestone, the combo continued to climb. Two minutes, 41-seconds after launch, the hot staging process took place. Most of the Super Heavy engines shut down as planned; some remained lit as the Starship’s Raptors ignited, separating the two space ships.
   While Starship continued to climb, SH 9 performed a flip maneuver using grid fins and cold gas thrusters. The Super Heavy stage exploded, sending debris into the Gulf of Mexico. Starship’s engines shut down early, causing the auto-destruct sequence to activate. Pieces fell northeast of the Turks and Caicos Islands.

   The mission occurred nearly seven months after IFT-1. Its mission led to many improvements in both the rocket and launch facility. On the ground, the pad foundation was repaired and reinforced, along with installation of a water-cooled steel flame deflector. New thrust vector controls were used for the Raptor engines. The addition of a hot-stage ring solved the separation issue experienced on the first flight.
When operational, the system can deliver 100 to 150 tons of payload depending on configuration, to Earth orbit, the Moon, and Mars.