New Starship launch attempt on November 17 approved by FAA [updated]

click map to enlarge

The FAA has issued SpaceX with a licence this week to try a new Starship launch attempt. 

That attempt is now scheduled for 17 November was initially scheduled for 17 November, but postponed, due to necessary repairs on a grid fin attenuator, to 18 November, with the window opening at 13:00 UTC and running to 15:39 UTC. Back-up dates are Nov 18 to 20.

The test flight is similar to the previous failed one from April 20: launch is from Starbase (Boca Chica) in Texas into a 26.4 degrees inclined orbit with apogee at 235 km, splashdown is just short of one revolution to the NE of Kauai, Hawaii, 1.5 hours after launch. One can debate the semantics on whether the launch is orbital or suborbital.

The map above shows the flight path and the hazard zones from Navigational Warnings NAVAREA IV 1322/23 and HYDROPAC 3578/23 (the text of these warnings is given below)

Most of the flight is over Ocean and chances of sighting the spacecraft while on orbit are slim: passes over land are either in daylight, or with the Starship spacecraft in earth shadow (the latter is the case for e.g. Australia and Indonesia). 

On Kauai and Oahu in the Hawaii islands, the reentry fireball might be seen in the northern sky, if  Starship gets that far.

This is my estimate for the approximate orbit:

STARSHIP                       for launch on 18 Nov 2023 13:00:00 UTC
1 70000U 23999A   23322.54166667  .00000000  00000-0  00000-0 0    05
2 70000 026.3975 054.9842 0064682 110.9574 322.9851 16.30015116    00

These are the relevant Navigational Warnings issued:

132050Z NOV 23
NAVAREA IV 1322/23(11,28).
GULF OF MEXICO.
TEXAS.
1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS, ROCKET LAUNCHING
   AND SPACE DEBRIS 1300Z TO 1539Z DAILY 17, 19
   AND 20 NOV AND 181300Z TO 181359Z NOV
   IN AREA BOUND BY
   25-51.00N 096-46.00W, 25-48.00N 096-14.00W,
   25-40.00N 095-03.00W, 25-21.00N 093-15.00W,
   25-26.00N 092-48.00W, 25-58.00N 092-47.00W,
   26-04.00N 093-18.00W, 26-01.00N 094-13.00W,
   26-00.00N 094-48.00W, 26-03.00N 095-43.00W,
   26-06.00N 096-45.00W, 26-07.00N 096-57.00W,
   26-03.00N 097-07.00W, 26-02.00N 097-12.00W,
   25-57.00N 097-12.00W, 25-52.00N 097-01.00W.
2. CANCEL NAVAREA IV 1309/23.
3. CANCEL THIS MSG 201639Z NOV 23

132000Z NOV 23
HYDROPAC 3578/23(19,81,83).
NORTH PACIFIC.
HAWAII TO MARSHALL ISLANDS.
DNC 12, DNC 13.
1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS 1410Z TO 1720Z DAILY
   17, 19 AND 20 NOV AND 181410Z TO 181540Z NOV:
   A. ROCKET LAUNCHING IN AREA BOUND BY
      14-26.00N 172-39.00E, 12-55.00N 169-45.00E,
      11-44.00N 167-39.00E, 11-27.00N 167-49.00E,
      11-52.00N 168-58.00E, 12-48.00N 171-10.00E,
      14-29.00N 175-20.00E, 15-24.00N 177-41.00E,
      16-20.00N 179-40.00W, 17-42.00N 175-13.00W,
      19-35.00N 168-59.00W, 21-01.00N 164-29.00W,
      22-32.00N 160-00.00W, 23-35.00N 156-29.00W,
      24-00.00N 155-28.00W, 24-31.00N 155-39.00W,
      24-14.00N 157-43.00W, 23-26.00N 161-55.00W,
      22-44.00N 165-15.00W, 21-54.00N 167-59.00W,
      20-57.00N 170-54.00W, 19-55.00N 173-55.00W,
      19-03.00N 176-19.00W, 17-39.00N 179-59.00E,
      16-13.00N 176-31.00E, 15-36.00N 175-03.00E.
   B. SPACE DEBRIS IN AREA BOUND BY
      24-02.64N 157-33.72W, 24-08.82N 157-02.82W,
      23-32.16N 156-53.28W, 23-25.80N 157-25.56W.
2. CANCEL HYDROPAC 3550/23.
3. CANCEL THIS MSG 201820Z NOV 23.

Let's see whether Starship will reach orbit this time.

 

UPDATE:

 
Starhip separated succesfully from the first stage this time (which violently disintegrated directly after separation), but Starship's auto-destruction mechanism destroyed the spacecraft just before engine shutdown and orbit insertion, at an altitude of about 148 km.