Shadowing Practice: SpaceX Is Ready to Send Starship Into Orbit | This Week in Spaceflight - Learn English Speaking with Video
Choose a practice mode
Each mode opens a full-screen practice room.
277 sentences
If sentences are too short or too long, click Edit to adjust them.
1
SpaceX is finally ready to send Starship to orbit, pending regulatory approval, New Glenn first and second stages are on the move as Blue prepares for its return to flight,
2
the launch market adjusts to Falcon 9's eventual retirement, and what do you mean the U .S has deployed weapons in space?
3
All that and more, coming up this week in Spaceflight.
4
After 13 flights, SpaceX is finally ready to send Starship into orbit on the rocket's 14th flight.
5
This week, SpaceX announced it on X and published information about the mission on its website, but it included the caveat that it's all still pending regulatory approval.
6
Because this is the first time Starship goes into orbit, SpaceX needs additional approval for it.
7
The company has proven in previous flights everything needed for this flight, as well as how to ensure that the ship doesn't get stuck in orbit.
8
But now, they not only have to convince themselves of those things, but also the relevant government agencies that approve these missions.
9
So while all of that paperwork is being worked out, the launch has been delayed.
10
Originally, SpaceX was targeting no earlier than September 22nd for the launch, but now it's been moved to the 28th.
11
To understand what's to come on Starship's 14th flight, we have to take a look back at Flight 13, as there are improvements on this flight relative to that one.
12
On Flight 13, SpaceX flew Booster 20 and Ship 40.
13
The mission was a major improvement over Flight 12, with no engines going out during ascent for either the booster or the ship.
14
Hot staging was also executed much better than on Flight 12.
15
The deterministic flip of the booster, which now relies on a staggered start of the ship's engines, finally worked as well.
16
Booster 20 also successfully relit the 28 engines that it had shut down ahead of hot staging, and thus had all 33 engines on for boost back burn,
17
something that hadn't gone successfully on the previous flight.
18
But while it had started correctly, the burn ended prematurely during the low thrust phase.
19
SpaceX has explained that the reason for this is that the three center engines on Super Heavy showed signs of ice clogging, which triggered the early end of the boost back burn.
20
This is a problem that was seen on flights two and three with boosters nine and 10, and which ultimately led to the demise of each of these vehicles.
21
See, Starship uses autogenous pressurization to pressurize and backfill its propellant tanks during flight.
22
In order to do this, the oxygen tank pressurization system taps off its pressure gas directly from the oxygen pre -burner exhaust.
23
This exhaust is primarily gaseous oxygen, but it also contains some amount of gaseous water and carbon dioxide.
24
Once the pressure gas is introduced in the tank, this comes into contact with the cold liquid oxygen and turns into ice.
25
The water ice floats in the liquid oxygen, but the carbon dioxide ice will sink and reach the bottom of the tank, right where the engine outlets are located.
26
So it's not really easy to design a filtering system
27
that can remove the ice from the liquid oxygen tank
28
while at the same time keeping it as simple and lightweight as possible.
29
Apart from the ice issue towards the end of the boost back burn, Booster 20 also didn't ignite five of its 13 inner engines for the landing burn,
30
which prevented it from slowing down enough and made it crash into the gulf.
31
In the case of Ship 40, things went much better.
32
It successfully completed its ascent burn, deployed 20 Starlink V3 satellites for the first time, and it conducted a raptor in -space relight.
33
All three of these milestones demonstrated that Starship Version 3 can finally go into orbit, deploy satellites, and de -orbit itself, and not become a piece of space junk.
34
So all three were critical to allow Flight 14 and future orbital missions to happen.
35
Ship 40's return in splashdown also seemingly went well.
36
We saw what really looked like the cleanest entry of any Starship vehicle to date
37
and a landing and splashdown so soft that the ship even survived the subsequent tip over.
38
SpaceX recently confirmed in its third Starship documentary episode
39
that Flight 13 was the first flight to attempt a ship landing following the catch profile
40
that will be used in future missions.
41
Not only that, but Ship 40 was also precise enough to have been caught
42
with a tower had there been one right there in the ocean at the simulated catch site.
43
And despite that, there were still some things that they discovered
44
that they would like to refine before actually bringing a ship to Starbase for a catch.
45
For example, we could see that some tiles didn't like the increased aerodynamic pressure during ascent for this flight.
46
Others were also damaged during hot staging, as seen from the inspector cameras on the deployed Starlink satellites.
47
SpaceX also recently said
48
that they've discovered areas where plasma can find ways to slip behind the tiles and damage the body of the vehicle.
49
This was even shown on that third episode about recovering ship 40 from the water, where teams went right up to the vehicle, removed tiles, and saw the damage produced by plasma.
50
But now, with all the learnings from Flight 13, SpaceX is finally giving Starship a chance to reach orbit.
51
And hey, we might need some new shirts soon?
52
So what exactly is Flight 14 all about?
53
Well, for this mission, SpaceX is flying Booster 21 and Ship 41.
54
Just like on the past flights, both stages will not be caught and will instead attempt a splashdown.
55
To prevent the issues found with Booster 20, SpaceX has added modifications to Booster 21 to improve the ice filtering capabilities
56
and has introduced modifications to the engine relight software to enhance reliability.
57
Also, like in the past couple of flights, the initial ascent will see the rocket heading southeast from Starbase, passing between Cuba and the Yucatan Peninsula.
58
Booster 21 will be aiming to perform a clean ascent, hot staging, boost back, entry, and splashdown out in the Gulf.
59
If all goes well, this could enable a booster catch on Flight 15, so let's hope for the best for Booster 21.
60
But everyone will be looking at the ship's side of things much closer, since it's meant to go to orbit.
61
But to demonstrate orbital flight capability, SpaceX is approaching it very carefully in this flight.
62
This is why Starship's mission profile doesn't target orbit from the start.
63
Rather, the ship's initial ascent will insert it into a suborbital trajectory similar to the ones that we've been used to.
64
This is because if the ship enters orbit directly, and then something happens to it that renders it inoperable, then it would be left stranded in orbit.
65
It would eventually re -enter due to atmospheric drag, but this would make it come back over a totally random
66
area along the ground path rather than over a more precisely known area.
67
Starship is built of high -strength steel that can support high temperatures and, on top of that, carries a heat shield that can help it to survive the heating of re -entry.
68
This means that big chunks of the ship could survive re -entry, and if it's over a populated area, it could cause damage on the ground.
69
It's because of this that SpaceX has a few checks during the mission in order to ensure that this doesn't happen.
70
After the ship's ascent burn is complete, teams will monitor the health of the ship and determine whether it's ready to perform its orbital insertion burn.
71
If not, the ship will continue on its path and re -enter over the Indian Ocean, just like on past suborbital missions.
72
But if the ship is good to go, then it'll execute its orbital insertion burn and prepare for the deployment of its Starlink payload.
73
For this flight, SpaceX will be inserting Starship into a roughly 275 -kilometer orbit and will be deploying 26 Starlink V3 satellites,
74
which will make it the heaviest payload ever carried into orbit by the company.
75
This also makes it the first dedicated launch of Starlink satellites on board Starship, and thus it has received the official Starlink mission nomenclature of Starlink Group 31 -1,
76
at least according to the documentation related to this flight.
77
SpaceX says
78
that three of these 26 Starlink V3 satellites have been fitted
79
with extra cameras in order to scan the ship's heat shield after deployment, similar to what they did on the previous flight.
80
Following the roughly 30 -minute -long payload deployment process, Ship 41 will enter a long multi -hour coast phase.
81
During this coast phase, SpaceX will be monitoring the ship
82
and ensuring that it continues to be in good health for its de -orbit burn and return to Earth.
83
SpaceX has two splashdown areas in the Pacific Ocean where they'll be able to bring the ship back after its orbital flight.
84
One of them is off the coast of Chile, and it's the primary splashdown area.
85
In order for the orbit to line up with that area, Starship needs to do a few laps around the Earth, hence why it's got a really long coast phase.
86
But if for some reason something happens to the ship early on after entering orbit
87
and SpaceX wants to make it return quickly, there's a contingency splashdown area north of Hawaii that would allow it to return just two orbits after launch.
88
After its de -orbit burn, Ship 41 will re -enter Earth's atmosphere about 35 minutes later.
89
This will be the first ship entry since SpaceX recovered a ship, so this vehicle has been fitted with the lessons learned from Ship 40. For example,
90
SpaceX says that teams have added additional retention mechanisms to tiles in certain areas
91
that are at the highest risk to fall off during ascent.
92
Some changes introduced to the heat shield will also try to solve the seep of plasma behind the tiles, as discovered on Ship 40.
93
There are also multiple areas of the ship flying with tiles that have curved or wavy edges, which were also trialed on Ship 40 and should reduce heating in the gaps between tiles.
94
SpaceX is also trying tile reuse on this flight, flying two tiles that previously flew on Ship 40, a first for the program.
95
If all goes well on this flight, we will have a nearly 10 -hour -long mission and a lot of cool views of Earth from space.
96
And hopefully, this will be the first of many more orbital missions to come for Starship.
97
And also, maybe we'll see a ship catch on Flight 15?
98
I mean, it'd be pretty awesome.
99
With Starship on the verge of reaching orbit, it's becoming increasingly clear that the global launch market is about to change a lot, but it might not be in the way that you are thinking.
100
Believe it or not, it seems everybody's moving away from SpaceX, for now at least.
101
In recent years, SpaceX broke its own launch records year over year, cramming ever more launches into the schedule.
102
But that stopped this year.
103
With the Starlink constellation now numbering close to 10 ,000 operational satellites
104
and a new generation of satellites designed to fly on Starship, the company has shifted its full focus to the stainless steel behemoth and away from Falcon 9.
105
Reportedly, SpaceX has stopped selling spots on its small satellite rideshare missions.
106
There are still a few of these rideshare missions scheduled into 2028, and well over 100 other Falcon 9 missions on the manifest, but for those needing a ride to space,
107
the rocket seems to be all but sold out.
108
Demand hasn't dried up though, and Starship isn't ready to fly non -Starlink missions quite yet.
109
As a result, we're now seeing customers turn to other launch providers.
110
In fact, just last week, we covered Ariane 6 getting its contract to launch Amazon's LEO satellites extended with six more missions.
111
This week we also got a couple of rideshare providers turning to other rockets.
112
First there's Germany -based ExoLaunch, who just bought a launch on Japan's H3 rocket.
113
ExoLaunch offers a range of satellite deployment systems alongside its own rideshare program that puts these systems to use.
114
And it's not like Falcon 9 is their only ride to space.
115
They regularly fly on Electron, and they've also used Soyuz, Arian 6, and India's PSLV.
116
Most recently, they deployed five payloads on the second flight of Ezar's Spectrum rocket.
117
But out of ExoLaunch's 49 missions, 27 flew on Falcon 9 and one on Falcon Heavy, with the Falcon family representing the vast majority of launch satellites flown to orbit,
118
704 out of 844.
119
Now they're diversifying their offering securing a dedicated launch on H3 set to fly in 2027.
120
And H3 isn't a small rocket either.
121
Its bearing fits a lot of smallsats.
122
But this won't mean the end of ExoLaunch launching on Falcon 9 just yet.
123
They're set still to fly on upcoming SpaceX rideshare missions, and they've got two dedicated Falcon 9 missions coming up in 2027 and 2028.
124
But the H3 contract definitely shows that the company has started looking elsewhere for its launch capacity, and they aren't the only ones to do so.
125
This week, U .S company COPS purchased a handful of launches on EZAR Spectrum.
126
COPS operates in a similar space as ExoLaunch with its own payload separation system and also running its own rideshare program,
127
regularly flying payloads on SpaceX's transporter missions.
128
They too are looking beyond SpaceX with this multi -launch contract.
129
As part of COPS's Waymaker rideshare program, the German rocket will fly five dedicated launches between 2028
130
and 2030 from Andoya in Norway and Isar's yet -to -be -built Canadian base at spaceport Nova Scotia.
131
The deal is a great vote of confidence in Isar, who just flew their first successful orbital mission on their second -ever flight earlier this month.
132
And they've been racking up contracts, too, with Astroscale Japan recently signing a launch for the Address J2 space debris removal mission and earlier this summer,
133
Planet Labs buying a launch for one of its Pelican Earth observation satellites and options for more satellites on future missions.
134
Izar says that Spectrum's schedule for 2028 is now nearly full, which is certainly impressive for a rocket that's just coming online.
135
But it also shows that the world's most prolific launcher might be winding down a bit sooner than its customers would like.
136
With all these commercial launches, space has unfortunately also become a place to defend.
137
While spaceflight started off as a military capability from the very beginning, space has mostly been a hypothetical front line.
138
Now for the first time, we have confirmation that the U .S has weapons on standby in space.
139
The acknowledgement came from the Department of the Air Force Secretary Troy Menk during a keynote at the 2026 Air
140
and Space Cyber Conference.
141
In his address, he explained that the U .S has, quote, on -orbit space control weapons capable of defending the joint force against hostile adversary action.
142
Now, as you might imagine, we didn't really get any details about the capabilities of these weapons
143
or even the kinds of threats that they might be able to counter.
144
But there are several technologies that could work as a space weapon.
145
First, the U .S.
146
Space Force has been working on the Golden Dome, designed to protect the U .S from incoming missiles.
147
The system would detect threats and then destroy missiles before they can do damage on the ground.
148
A completely different way of weaponizing space might not even require physical contact.
149
Satellites and many terrestrial weapons rely on other space assets for communication or navigation.
150
Disrupting these signals for a while could be all that's needed to defend a country from some threats.
151
Or they might even be able to take out a satellite permanently.
152
We've seen classified satellites move close to spacecraft from other countries before.
153
This could be just a spy on each other's capabilities, but who knows what other classified methods they have to take out a satellite.
154
Well, there is one way that we've seen before.
155
The U .S., Russia, India, and China have all tested anti -satellite weapons, destructively taking out a satellite.
156
Most recently, a Russian test actually endangered the ISS in 2021.
157
The test destroyed the Cosmos 1408 satellite, creating a debris field in the station's path, requiring the crew to take shelter in their capsules.
158
Taking out a satellite really isn't that hard.
159
You just need to slam another object into it.
160
At orbital velocity, even a small object can be very destructive, creating more debris that can potentially collide with other satellites in a runaway effect known as the Kessler syndrome.
161
But unless you want to hamper your own access to space, too, that might not be the best way to take out a satellite.
162
Considering how much we rely on satellites in our daily lives, making space inaccessible by creating debris could be a serious threat.
163
And we might not even need space weapons to suffer the consequences.
164
Space debris is a serious problem on its own and is being studied by space agencies around the world.
165
Just this week, the European Space Agency issued its latest space environment report studying how much of a mess we're making.
166
The number of objects in orbit around our planet has increased dramatically over the last few years, and just last year alone, we added 4 ,000 new satellites to the equation.
167
ESA concluded that the risk of collisions grows as not enough satellites leave their orbits at the end of their mission.
168
If we continue this way, the latest numbers predict a runaway effect with the number of objects in collisions in space growing rapidly.
169
Of course, these are based on current trends, and companies and agencies around the world are also working on reducing debris,
170
either by deorbiting satellites sooner at the end of their lives or developing technology to actively clean up space.
171
We might not have to worry yet, but if nothing else, the report shows the value of protecting our space environment.
172
We just hope those weapons won't ever be needed to do that.
173
Now let's move on to some lighter topics as we dive into some other stories across space, starting with NASA's big rocket.
174
The agency is assembling the SLS for Artemis III, the next mission in the program to return to the moon.
175
Although this mission will stay closer to home by remaining in low Earth orbit, it will perform a series of tests to ensure that all parts of the mission are ready for the main event,
176
including both human landing system vehicles, SpaceX's Starship and Blue Origin's Blue Moon Mark II lander.
177
The SLS
178
that will bring the four astronauts to space where they can
179
perform these tests is now taking shape in the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center.
180
Most recently, the agency added the forward segment to the right solid rocket booster and they'll probably go to the left side soon, which is just one segment behind.
181
Once that's done, both boosters will have all their five propellant segments stacked.
182
Then NASA can move on to install a smaller segment with avionics and the nose cones, completing the boosters.
183
And while we're on the topic of Artemis, NASA also released new footage from the Artemis 2 mission.
184
And I made footage in the literal sense, referring to lengths of film.
185
Good old 35mm and 16mm film in this case.
186
Yes, NASA's still using old -fashioned film cameras to capture its latest launches.
187
Why not move on to digital?
188
Well, film has a few advantages.
189
First, the technology is incredibly reliable, which is a good thing if you want it to work right next to one of the world's most powerful rockets.
190
Plus, film also has a high dynamic range, meaning it can capture very bright scenes while still maintaining detail in dark areas.
191
Very useful when capturing rocket exhaust.
192
Now digital sensors might be catching up on that front, but for now, NASA seems happy with the old stuff.
193
And to be honest, so are we.
194
There's just something about it that makes it look even more special.
195
From old cameras, we move on to NASA's latest and greatest, the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope.
196
We all watched the telescope make its way to space atop a Falcon Heavy in the final days of August, and it's now on its way to its destination at the Sun -Earth Lagrange Point 2,
197
or L2, about 1 .5 million kilometers from Earth.
198
While it's on its way, teams are working to commission the telescope, letting it acclimatize to the space environment before turning on the instruments.
199
This week, roaming captured its first light, sending its very first infrared picture back home.
200
Don't expect anything fancy, though, as all we got was a blurry picture of some stars.
201
But that's expected.
202
The detector was still stowed in its launch position, and teams still have to tune the telescope's focus, which they'll work on in the coming months.
203
So it'll be a while before we get some crisp images.
204
Meanwhile, scientists have also checked out the coronagraph, an instrument that will selectively block out starlight, allowing the telescope to directly image planets around other stars.
205
That's pretty much impossible without a coronagraph, as the star is so much brighter than any planet around it, but blocking out the star makes it possible to capture these faint objects
206
so far everything's going on track
207
and we can expect roman's first science images early next year
208
then the telescope will start its five -year mission to observe the universe
209
and good news it now looks like roman will last much
210
longer the spacecraft was designed to have enough fuel for a five -year mission plus a five -year extension
211
so 10 years total but if it could save some fuel it might last longer
212
and it did the The first mid -course correction burn to
213
get Roman on the right trajectory towards L2 required 10 % less fuel, adding over four years to the expected lifespan.
214
Because this was so successful, the next burn is also expected to save fuel, adding four more years.
215
But wait, there's more!
216
At launch, Roman was lighter than anticipated, and that's also a part of why it needed to burn less fuel for its correction burns.
217
But it also meant that teams could top up the tanks a bit more than expected, adding another four years.
218
So in total, Roman has enough fuel for at least 22 years of science operations.
219
So hopefully it'll help us to learn more about the universe for decades to come.
220
New Glenn is on the move ahead of its return to flight.
221
Blue Origin is still recovering from the failure
222
that left its facilities at Launch Complex 36 a bit worse for wear in late May.
223
They've been aiming to get ready for launch again before the end of the year, which is a goal that sounded highly ambitious, and honestly it still does, but they've certainly not been sitting still,
224
and they're getting closer every day.
225
With both rocket stages on the move, it seems the company might have taken some big steps this week.
226
First, we saw Never Tell Me the Odds leave the factory.
227
Now if you remember, this was the booster that successfully flew to space and back on New Glenn's second and third flights.
228
It was inside LC -36's horizontal integration facility when its colleague rapidly disassembled itself on the nearby launch pad.
229
While we were worried that it might have left the experienced booster worse for wear, Blue moved it back to the production site for refurbishment.
230
And this week, it was ready to head back to LC -36, where the hangar apparently was sufficiently repaired to host it.
231
Now, we don't know what's coming up for Never Tell Me the Odds, but the move is a good sign for its return to flight.
232
Meanwhile, NASA's Pegasus barge arrived at the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi, carrying a New Glenn upper stage.
233
What's it doing there?
234
Well, Blue recently acquired a lease on the B -2 test stand that NASA used to test Saturn V rocket stages, space shuttle components, and most recently, the SLS core stage.
235
Blue modified the stand to test Glenn Stage 2, and as they were wrapping up the work, its first subject arrived aboard Pegasus.
236
CEO Dave Limp said it's the next flight upper stage, so it'll likely fly that first mission from the refurbished pad.
237
Now let's hope the launch pad itself is coming along just as well as the rocket, and we might just see Blue pull off the impossible before the end of the year.
238
As Blue was moving its rocket stages around, some other rockets actually made it to space this week.
239
So let's have a look at what went up in your space traffic report provided by NextSpaceflight.
240
It was a rather active week, with eight launches worldwide.
241
SpaceX's Falcon 9 launched two missions, and it's hard to believe they weren't Starlink.
242
One of them was carrying a trio of O3B -MPOWER satellites for SES,
243
which also happened to be the last ones needed to complete the company's O3B -MPOWER constellation.
244
That mission also became the 700th successful flight for the Falcon family of rockets.
245
This number includes two successful Falcon 1 flights, all 13 Falcon Heavy missions, and 685 successful Falcon 9 launches.
246
The other Falcon 9 mission of the week, and thus adding another successful flight to the list was the USSF -259 mission for the U .S.
247
Space Force.
248
While this mission was classified, it's believed that this might be part of an exclusive multi -billion contract between the Space Force
249
and SpaceX awarded back in May.
250
Under this contract, the company is set to deliver two types of satellites, ones fitted with sensors capable of detecting and tracking airborne threats,
251
and ones that act as communication relays for the tracking satellites.
252
This would have been the third of such missions under this contract, which is supposed to fly a total of 18 missions by the end of 2027.
253
From French Guiana, Europe launched a Vega C carrying the Sentinel -3C and FLEX satellites for the European Space Agency.
254
Both of these satellites are Earth observation satellites, with Sentinel -3C being part of the Copernicus program and fitted with several instruments that will allow it to monitor Earth's climate.
255
FLEX will be complementary to it, with its only mission being to observe the natural fluorescence of plants as they carry out photosynthesis,
256
allowing scientists to map the world's vegetation and monitor its health over time.
257
China launched the most this week with four launches, two of them carrying batches of Qianfan satellites, one batch on Landspace's Zhuxia -2E rocket,
258
and another batch on Orionspace's Gravity -1 rocket.
259
The other large internet satellite constellation from China, Guo -Wang, was also expanded with the launch of a Changjiang -12 from Wenchang, sending nine more of them into orbit.
260
Additionally, a Kwajau -11 rocket launched two Earth -observation radar satellites into low -Earth orbit for space -t.
261
This week, Roscosmos also launched the Progress MS -35 cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station.
262
This launch was supposed to have occurred last week, but a problem on the third stage postponed it to this week.
263
The launch was also carried out on the more capable Soyuz
264
2 .1B rocket instead of the 2 .1A that's typically been used for the last few years.
265
While it's not the first time a Progress spacecraft launched on a 2 .1B,
266
it marks a milestone, as Roscosmos transitions both Progress and Soyuz spacecraft launches to this more capable Soyuz rocket.
267
Progress MS -35 should take three days to reach the station, and it's expected to dock to the Poisk module this Saturday at 1346 UTC.
268
And right at the end of the week, we had a sneaky launch of another Soyuz rocket from Plisetsk, likely carrying a GLONASS navigation satellite.
269
Going into next week, we expect it to be a slightly less active week, but with an interesting variety of launches.
270
Rocket Lab should be launching this weekend, the Owl by the Dozen mission, Force Inspective.
271
SpaceX also has at least one Starlink launch from Vandenberg planned for next week.
272
And from China, we expect two launches, one by a Chongqing 2D and another by a Connecticut One rocket.
273
We were hoping next week would also feature Starship's 14th flight, but it's now slipped until September 28th, so we're gonna have to wait just a little bit longer.
274
As usual, we recommend that you go to nextspaceflight .com
275
or download the next spaceflight app on your phone to keep track of upcoming launches.
276
And that's your weekly update of spaceflight news!
277
I'm Alicia Siegel for NSF, and we'll see you all again next week to recap This Week in Spaceflight.
Download App
Everything you need to speak fluently
AI PronunciationScore every sentence
IPA PracticeMaster every sound
VocabularyBuild your word bank
Vocab GameLearn while playing
Same Channel
C12
Possible Florida Starship? - Starbase Summary
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
C12
"SHIP GOES HERE" for flight 14 - Starbase Summary
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
C15
Starship Flight 14 Goes Orbital! SpaceX Reveals 10-Hour Mission | Starship Update
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B24
The Chopsticks get Chopped - Starbase Summary
Business EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B21
Artemis II Astronaut talks about being a Crew ✨🌎 #nasa #space #artemis
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B25
Launch Pads and Prep at Starbase (and Beyond) - Starship Summary
Business EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
C16
Flight 14 (and Gigabay) Milestones Shaping Up - Starbase Summary
Business EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
C12
Did This Camera Survive the Static Fire? - Starbase Summary
University StudentsWorking Adults
B14
Starbase Catches up after Flight 13 | SpaceX Starbase
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B27
Ship 40 Survived! SpaceX Prepares for an Ambitious Flight 14 | Starship Update
IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepUniversity Students
B24
"Well, it's Flight 13 Launch Week... Again" | SpaceX Starbase
Business EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
C16
"This is where I'd put my flight 13 footage..." | SpaceX Starbase
IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepUniversity Students
B26
Single Engine Static Fire? Huh. | SpaceX Starbase
IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepUniversity Students
C15
Starship Testing Takes an Unexpected Turn | Starship Update
IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepUniversity Students
C13
SpaceX Delays Flight 13 Further, Flight 14 Testing Starts! | Starship Update
Business EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
C19
SpaceX Is HIDING Something! | Starship Update
IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepUniversity Students
B26
SpaceX preparing two Starship flights in parallel - Starbase Summary
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
FOR YOU
Recommend Video
C14
153 sentences
How Reusable Rockets Work
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
C11
90 sentences
Did Google just dethrone OpenAI and Anthropic?
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
C12
47 sentences
We Found Galaxies Too Old for the Universe
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
C12
224 sentences
20% Speed of Light!! NEW Light Engine is INSANE!
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
C11
68 sentences
GitHub Copilot now controls your command line...
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B21
163 sentences
New Tesla Bot Optimus Gen 3 Revealed!
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
C13
218 sentences
Learn English From The News - Google, Elon Musk's SpaceX Discuss Launching Data Centers Into Orbit
Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
C15
230 sentences
Starship - Test Like You Fly
Business EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B24
38 sentences
How Does SpaceX Get These Amazing Camera Shots?
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B218
41 sentences
Unit 6: Living on Mars
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 277 sentences and 4796 words to shadow. The speech runs for 25:53. The speaker talks fast, about 185 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. Only 78% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| satellite noun | /ˈsætəlaɪ̯t/ | A moon or other smaller body orbiting a larger one. |
| rocket noun | /ˈɹɑk.ɪt/ | A cylindrical projectile that can be fired to a great height through combustion, (specifically) a type of firework of this form, typically exploding with light… |
| orbit noun | /ˈɔɹ.bɪt/ | An elliptical movement of an object about a celestial object or Lagrange point, especially a periodic elliptical revolution. |
| booster noun | /ˈbustɚ/ | Something that boosts. |
| tile noun | /ˈtaɪ.əl/ | A regularly-shaped slab of clay or other material, affixed to cover or decorate a surface, as in a roof-tile, glazed tile, stove tile, carpet tile, etc. |
| orbital adjective | /ɔɹ.bət.l̩/ | Of or relating to, or forming an orbit (such as the orbit of a moon, planet, or spacecraft). |
| oxygen noun | /ˈɑksɪd͡ʒən/ | The chemical element (symbol O) with an atomic number of 8 and relative atomic mass of 15.9994. It is a colorless and odorless gas. Sometimes called elemental… |
| debris noun | /ˈdɛbɹi/ | Rubble, wreckage, scattered remains of something destroyed. |
| capability noun | /ˌkeɪ.pəˈbɪl.ɪ.ti/ | The power or ability to generate an outcome. |
| spacecraft noun | /ˈspeɪsˌkɹæft/ | A vehicle that travels through space. |
| telescope noun | /ˈtɛl.əˌskoʊp/ | A monocular optical instrument that magnifies distant objects, especially in astronomy. |
| successfully adverb | /səkˈsɛs.fə.li/ | In a successful manner; with success; without failing. |
| capture verb | /ˈkæp.(t)ʃɚ/ | To take control of; to seize by force or stratagem. |
| boost verb | /buːst/ | To lift or push from behind (one who is endeavoring to climb); to push up. |
| monitor noun | /ˈmɑ.nɪ.tɚ/ | Someone who watches over something; a person in charge of something or someone. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| take out verb | To remove. | |
| carry out verb | /ˈkæ.ɹi aʊt/ | To hold while moving it out. |
| check out verb | To record the departure or withdrawal of someone or something (such as guests, employees, books, etc.). | |
| clean up verb | To make an area or a thing clean; to pick up a mess; to tidy. | |
| come along verb | To accompany. | |
| come up verb | To emerge or become known, especially unexpectedly. | |
| dry up verb | To become dry (often of weather); to lose water. | |
| fall off verb | To become detached or to drop from. |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 45 contractions and reduced forms, such as they've, it'll, we're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: capture /ˈkæp.(t)ʃɚ/, shield /ˈʃild/, observation /ˌɑbzɚˈveɪʃn̩/, navigation /nævɪˈɡeɪʃən/, correction /kəˈɹɛkʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: capability /ˌkeɪ.pəˈbɪl.ɪ.ti/, successfully /səkˈsɛs.fə.li/, regulatory /ˈɹɛɡ.jʊ.lə.t(ɔː.)ɹi/, navigation /nævɪˈɡeɪʃən/, modification /ˌmɑdɪfɪˈkeɪʃən/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like satellite, rocket, orbit.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect continuous have/has been + -ing — an action that started earlier and is still going on | they've been racking · has been working · They've been aiming |
| Conditional sentences if + clause, will/would + verb — a condition and its result | If not, the ship will continue |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | has deployed · has proven · has been delayed |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | being worked · been moved · was also executed |
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.