Regulatory Approval Needed, Schedule May Change

SpaceX’s Starship may launch on its Flight 5 test flight as early as October 13, pending regulatory approval. SpaceX has posted on its website that if it does proceed as planned, the launch window will open as early as 7 a.m. CST.

SpaceX says that since it is a developmental test flight, and in view of the FAA’s continued scrutiny, the schedule may change but the company will post updates on its X (formerly twitter) account.

By all accounts, Starship’s Flight 4 was a complete success. Both Starship and Super Heavy flew nominal trajectories and hit their landing targets in the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Mexico, respectively.

The primary objectives of Flight 5 will continue progress toward full and rapid reusability. The Super Heavy booster will make its first attempt return to launch site and catch by the tower, while Starship will aim for a soft splashdown in the Indian Ocean again.

The SpaceX team has performed extensive upgrades of both the hardware and software in Super Heavy, Starship, and the launch/catch tower. Many thousands of hours have been put in by engineers and technicians building, preparing, and testing all of the thousands of separate criteria required to maximize the probability of success.

A key upgrade of Starship was a total rework of its heatshield. Technicians spent more than 12,000 hours installing new-generation thermal tiles to replace the entire thermal protection system. They also added a backup ablative layer and additional protections to the flaps.

 hile in the development phase, each flight builds on the lessons of past ones and actively testing hardware and other components in flight and then adjusting subsequent flights as new information comes in.

FMI:  www.spacex.com/