SpaceX anticipates Starship 5 launch in 4 weeks

SpaceX CEO, Elon Musk is anticipating Starship Test Flight 5 could launch in 4 weeks from now. It suggests a near opportunity somewhere in early August.

Starship is a two-stage space vehicle including a booster and a spacecraft. This integrated flight is 121 meters tall and 9 meters wide. During liftoff, it generates 7,590 tf thrust.

The company has been testing this massive rocket since April 2023. There have been four tests and each time the rocket reached new milestones. It is also noticed that the development of new vehicles has been improved throughout these test liftoffs.

On June 6, SpaceX launched the most recent Starship which achieved far more than its predecessors. It cleared the liftoff, performed hot-staging, and ignited Starship’s engines.

During flight 3, the first stage maneuvered back to earth but failed to land on the splash zone. However, flight 4’s booster did this right and fired a landing burn before entering the sea (splash zone).

The second stage on the other hand has done remarkably well in the reentry phase. The heat shield survived more than last time and kept the descent steady. Starlink continued to provide an onboard view of the reentry even when a flap picked up fire.

Eventually, Starship reached the targeted splash zone and performed a landing burn with both flaps. It was the first time two of these stages landed in targeted zones after landing burn.

SpaceX Starship Test Flight 4 lifting off from Boca Chica Starbase (Source – SpaceX)

Goal for Starship 5 Launch

Starship 4 provided a ton of useful data to improve the next vehicle design. That includes health shield tiles, SpaceX is heavily focused on this component for the ship and strengthening the material to make it more heat resistive.

With its achievement, the rocket maker can land the booster on a real launch tower rather than the sea. However, it may not do the same for the Starship.

For now, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has not said anything about the next flight’s license modification.

(source)