After receiving the green light from the FAA a few days earlier, SpaceX is now preparing to conduct a new test flight of its immense Starship on May 27. Here's what you need to know before this crucial launch, as the company is going through a rather tumultuous period.
This ninth flight is particularly anticipated, in part because the results have not been satisfactory since the introduction of Starship Block 2, the latest version of the launcher, during the seventh test flight. As a reminder, its first two takeoffs (flights 7 and 8) ended in a catastrophic disintegration of the vehicle, following various technical problems, particularly with the famous Raptor engines. To date, this new model has still not managed to complete a mission, and SpaceX will therefore have to prove the famous saying "never two without three" wrong to start again on solid foundations.
The program for this 9th flight promises to be relatively busy, and the engineers will take advantage of it to carry out a myriad of different tests. To begin, SpaceX plans to recycle a Super Heavy booster. The vehicle is in fact built around the booster used during the 7th test flight, last January.
This point alone makes the flight very important. The ability to reuse this material multiple times is indeed one of the pillars of SpaceX's strategy. Only with this approach will Elon Musk's company be able to approach the infernal launch rate desired by the CEO (SpaceX recently received authorization to carry out 25 launches per year from Starbase, compared to 5 previously). Demonstrating that this immense booster is capable of surviving two consecutive flights would already be a big step in this direction. It will therefore be interesting to see how this first stage will behave during this second outing, particularly with regard to the propulsion system. The Raptor engines will be particularly scrutinized by the technical teams, because it was precisely because of the failure of one of these thrusters that the 8th flight ended in a spectacular explosion.
In addition to this recycling, the vehicle will have a lot to do during this 9th flight. It will not only involve making a round trip to the edge of space. Several important tests are also planned along the way, and SpaceX hopes that this Starship–Super Heavy pairing will be able to succeed where its two predecessors failed.
A recycled Super Heavy booster
The first important test will come just after the separation between the two stages, and it concerns a critical step in every rocket launch: separation.
As a reminder, since the 3rd flight, SpaceX has decided to implement a procedure called hot staging. This consists of firing the 2nd stage before the two parts are even physically separated. This helps avoid downtime in the climb and, by extension, saves a significant amount of fuel.
This procedure is made possible by a specialized adapter; It is equipped with vents that allow the second stage exhaust gases to make their way through the structure until separation.
These famous vents will play a central role in the next test. Some of these will be intentionally locked, so as to push the booster in a specific direction as it separates from the second stage. This will prevent the Super Heavy from rotating in a random direction and, in the long run, should greatly simplify the recovery procedure. It's worth noting, however, that this time, SpaceX doesn't intend to capture the vehicle using its launch tower; it will end up in the Gulf of Mexico.
The second test will take place a little later, after the conclusion of the thrust phase that allows the booster to return to the surface. This time, it will approach the descent with a more aggressive angle of attack. In theory, this should generate more friction with the atmosphere, allowing the booster to slow down more; it will therefore be necessary to conserve less fuel for the landing itself, a significant logistical advantage. But this also means that the structure will be subject to greater mechanical constraints, and it will therefore be interesting to see how this recycled Super Heavy responds.
The final test of the booster will focus on the propulsion section. One of the three central engines will be deliberately disabled, thus generating an asymmetry in the thrust. This will allow engineers to work on an emergency procedure that involves modulating the flow of the other engines to compensate for this "failure" and rebalance the thrust, in order to maintain control of the vehicle in the event of a partial failure.
Starship: structural and deployment tests
Meanwhile, the upper stage, that is, the Starship itself, will also undergo several tests. First, SpaceX will attempt to relight one of the Starship's engines at very high altitude—a capability essential for paving the way for complex orbital maneuvers.
Its predecessor, Starship Block 1, already achieved this during its 6th flight in November 2024. The goal will be to replicate this operation with Starship Block 2, to demonstrate that it too is ready to perform in-orbit operations such as deploying hardware.
At the same time, the vehicle will also attempt to deploy a series of eight Starlink satellite simulators. If these two tests are successful, the Starship will move considerably closer to its first operational missions.
Finally, the Starship will undergo further structural and thermal tests. It will be placed on a trajectory that is particularly demanding for the fins, which will be subjected to significant mechanical stress to test their strength. Several tiles from the heat shield will also be removed to verify how well the Starship can withstand the daunting temperatures of atmospheric reentry under suboptimal conditions. All of these tests will allow engineers to collect valuable data to prevent accidents in the future.
How to follow the flight?
The launch window will open during the night of Tuesday 27th to Wednesday 28th, around 1:30 a.m. (French time). As usual, the launch attempt will be broadcast live via SpaceX's X account or on the company's website, at this address.
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