SpaceX teases Starship launch 3 with new pictures from 'Gateway to Mars'

X has put its fans on edge of ir seat again with new pictures of Starship rocket. company is gearing up for launch vehicle's third fully-integrated orbital flight after relatively successful second one on vember 18.

mission was relatively successful than first mission on April 20 in sense that it was able to make it past st separation and lifted off without destroying launch p. Earlier on December 18, X posted pictures of Super Heavy Booster which was hauled to launch p at Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, for testing.

"Flight 3 vehicles on p at Starbase for testing ahe of Starship's next launch," X captioned post but did t specify a timeline for next mission. 

It is quite possible that Starship will t launch before early 2024 as it has to make improvements on some fronts before flight 3. In second test flight, both Booster and upper st exploded few minutes after lift off which caught attention of US Federal Aviation ministration (FAA).

FAA issued a statement just a few hours after mishap regarding loss of vehicle. " FAA will oversee X-led mishap investigation to ensure X complies with its FAA-approved mishap investigation plan and or regulatory requirements," it said.

While Super Heavy Booster exploded seconds after st-separation, upper st was lost later on due to failure in signal acquisition, X team said during launch commentary. 

Although, X was able to save launch p unlike flight 1 thanks to newly installed water deluge system. X CEO Elon Musk, however, was never 100% confident of a successful test flight but said that Starship would have a decent chance of reaching orbit if all 33 engines on Super Heavy Booster ignited, which y did. 

It is worth mentioning that X is way behind schedule in developing Starship which is w highly likely to push NASA's Artemis 3 to 2027. NASA has awarded X with over $4 billion worth of contract to develop Starship for landing astronauts on Moon by 2025, but a recent report suggested that it could be delayed by at least two years.