SpaceX already gearing up for Starship’s sixth test flight

SpaceX has released images of a Super Heavy booster heading to nan launchpad for pre-launch testing.

“Flight 6 Super Heavy booster moved to nan Starbase pad for testing,” SpaceX said successful a station connected X (formerly Twitter) connected Tuesday.

Flight 6 Super Heavy booster moved to nan Starbase pad for testing. The move comes conscionable 1 week aft returning nan first booster caught pursuing motorboat pic.twitter.com/iwmqCeF3tE

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) October 22, 2024

SpaceX, led by nan billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, is eager to proceed pinch nan sixth trial formation of nan Starship, which comprises nan Super Heavy booster and Starship spacecraft.

Once nan ground-based, pre-launch testing of nan Super Heavy’s engines is complete, engineers will besides trial nan Starship’s engines. After that, nan Starship will beryllium lifted atop nan Super Heavy successful mentation for nan sixth trial formation from SpaceX’s Starbase installation successful Boca Chica, Texas.

The astir caller trial of nan astir powerful rocket ever to alert took spot connected October 13 and was a immense success. The ngo progressive nan motorboat tower’s elephantine mechanical arms “catching” nan Super Heavy booster arsenic it returned to Earth soon aft deploying nan Starship spacecraft to orbit. It was nan first effort to execute nan feat, and put SpaceX connected a way to creating a reliable, reusable Starship strategy that will alteration it to summation formation wave and slash ngo costs.

There’s nary connection yet connected erstwhile nan sixth Starship trial will return place, but there’s a adjacent chance it could alert again by nan extremity of adjacent month. A connection to news tract NASASpaceflight (NSF) from nan Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) suggested SpaceX presently has clearance to launch, provided it sticks to nan aforesaid ngo floor plan arsenic Flight 5. However, if SpaceX changes nan ngo profile, nan FAA will request further clip to reappraisal it earlier deciding whether to grant a motorboat permit.

“The SpaceX Starship/Super Heavy Flight 5 licence authorization besides includes FAA support of nan Flight 6 ngo profile,” nan regulatory assemblage told NSF. “The FAA wished nan changes requested by Space for Flight 6 are wrong nan scope of what has been antecedently analyzed. Any modifications requested by SpaceX to nan approved Flight 6 scope of operations whitethorn require further FAA evaluation.”

NASA is watching nan Starship’s improvement intimately arsenic it will usage nan conveyance for nan Artemis III mission, presently group for 2026, which will onshore nan first humans connected nan lunar aboveground successful 5 decades.