SpaceX is preparing for flight 3 for launch and throughout the past week, it has been moving the Integrated Starship launch vehicle up and down along with a wet dress rehearsal (WDR) attempt.
A week ago, SpaceX released photographs of Super Heavy Booster and Starship rolling out at Starbase. Further information from NASASpaceflight revealed that the company has already stacked and de-stacked the first and second stages several times to check.
These tests may be related to the rocket maneuverability during actual flight and especially focused around the stacked area which will be responsible for hot-staging.
The stage separation happened as planned during the second flight test in November last year but the Super Heavy occurred with Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly or RUD right after this mission milestone.
This was an improvement and a major success as compared to the first flight in April which didn’t achieve hot-staging and eventually blasted entirely into the air.
Also, the Starship spacecraft ignited its engine and led the rest of the mission on its own. This was the first time when Starship flew in the atmosphere for about 8 minutes before going numb.
After two full stack tests were ended early, Starship S28 has been destacked from B10 for further inspections & possible Static Fire tests as part of the pre-flight testing flow. Stay tuned to @NASASpaceflight‘s Starbase Live 24/7 to see what happens next: https://t.co/wTIGOIV9NO pic.twitter.com/jMBQ92vEGC
— Elisar Priel (@ENNEPS) February 18, 2024
WDR:
Other than stacking and de-stacking, SpaceX is also conducting WDR for the integrated flight. It is a usual practice to load propellant into the launch vehicle, which in the case of Starship is sub-cooled liquid methane (CH4) and liquid oxygen (LOX).
All of this process happens without igniting the engine and plays an important role in checking all launch procedures including propellant load, tanking, pressurization, and flight control systems.
On February 17, 2024, SpaceX tried to perform WDR on flight 3 with partial tanking on the Super Heavy booster but the Methane and Liquid tanks appeared frosty.
The appearance of frost could be a normal situation but may also be responsible for a potential leak through the gap or lack of insulation which may lead to frost formation.
SpaceX may work these things out and retry the WDR soon enough as we approach flight 3 within a few weeks.