UPCOMING
STARSHIP'S FIFTH FLIGHT TEST
Starship's fifth flight test could launch as soon as October 13, pending regulatory approval.
A live webcast of the flight test will begin about 30 minutes before liftoff, which you can watch here and
on X @SpaceX. You can also watch the webcast on the new X TV app. The launch window will open as early as 7:00 a.m. CT. As is the case with all developmental testing, the schedule is dynamic and likely to change, so be sure to stay tuned to our X account for updates.
Flight 4 was a tremendous success. A fully successful ascent was followed by the first ever
booster soft-landing in the Gulf of Mexico and Starship making it through a
https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1798792222743122164, before its own landing burn and splashdown in the Indian Ocean.
The fifth flight test of Starship will aim to take another step towards full and rapid reusability. The primary objectives will be
attempting the first ever return to launch site and catch of the Super Heavy booster and another Starship reentry and landing burn, aiming for an on-target splashdown of Starship in the Indian Ocean.
Extensive upgrades ahead of this flight test have been made to hardware and software across Super Heavy, Starship, and the launch and catch tower infrastructure at Starbase. SpaceX engineers have spent years preparing and months testing for the booster catch attempt, with technicians pouring tens of thousands of hours into building the infrastructure to maximize our chances for success. We accept no compromises when it comes to ensuring the safety of the public and our team, and the return will only be attempted if conditions are right.
Thousands of distinct vehicle and pad criteria must be met prior to a return and catch attempt of the Super Heavy booster, which will require healthy systems on the booster and tower and a manual command from the mission’s Flight Director. If this command is not sent prior to the completion of the boostback burn, or if automated health checks show unacceptable conditions with Super Heavy or the tower, the booster will default to a trajectory that takes it to a landing burn and soft splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico.
The returning booster will slow down from supersonic speeds, resulting in
audible sonic booms in the area around the landing zone. Generally, the only impact to those in the surrounding area of a sonic boom is the brief thunder-like noise with variables like weather and distance from the return site determining the magnitude experienced by observers.
Starship will fly a similar trajectory as the previous flight test with splashdown targeted in the Indian Ocean. This flight path does not require a deorbit burn for reentry, maximizing public safety while still providing the opportunity to meet our primary objective of a controlled reentry and soft water landing of Starship.
One of the key upgrades on Starship ahead of flight was a complete rework of its heatshield, with SpaceX technicians spending more than 12,000 hours replacing the entire thermal protection system with newer-generation tiles, a backup ablative layer, and additional protections between the flap structures. This massive effort, along with updates to the ship’s operations and software for reentry and landing burn, will look to improve upon the previous flight and bring Starship to a soft splashdown at the target area in the Indian Ocean.
With each flight building on the learnings from the last, testing improvements in hardware and operations across every facet of Starship, we’re on the verge of demonstrating techniques fundamental to Starship’s fully and rapidly reusable design. By continuing to push our hardware in a flight environment, and doing so as safely and frequently as possible, we’ll rapidly bring Starship online and revolutionize humanity’s ability to access space.
COUNTDOWN
All Times Approximate
HR/MIN/SEC EVENT
01:15:00 SpaceX Flight Director conducts poll and verifies GO for propellant load
00:49:50 Ship fuel (liquid methane) load underway
00:48:40 Ship LOX (liquid oxygen) load underway
00:40:40 Booster fuel load underway
00:34:03 Booster LOX load underway
00:19:40 Raptor begins engine chill on booster and ship
00:03:20 Ship propellant load complete
00:02:50 Booster propellant load complete
00:00:30 SpaceX flight director verifies GO for launch
00:00:10 Flame deflector activation
00:00:03 Raptor ignition sequence begins
00:00:00 Excitement guaranteed
FLIGHT TEST TIMELINE
All Times Approximate
HR/MIN/SEC EVENT
00:00:02 Liftoff
00:01:02 Max Q (moment of peak mechanical stress on the rocket)
00:02:33 Super Heavy MECO (most engines cut off)
00:02:41 Hot-staging (Starship Raptor ignition and stage separation)
00:02:48 Super Heavy boostback burn start
00:03:41 Super Heavy boostback burn shutdown
00:03:43 Hot-stage jettison
00:06:08 Super Heavy is supersonic
00:06:33 Super Heavy landing burn start
00:06:50 Super Heavy splashdown if no catch attempt
00:06:56 Super Heavy landing burn shutdown and catch attempt
00:08:27 Starship engine cutoff
00:48:03 Starship entry
01:02:34 Starship is transonic
01:03:43 Starship is subsonic
01:05:15 Landing flip
01:05:20 Landing burn
01:05:34 An exciting landing!