Starship 5 launch date delays by 2-3 weeks, maybe around September

SpaceX has pushed the Starship 5 launch date by 2-3 weeks, which suggests that the next flight test could come in late August or early September.

Earlier this month, Elon Musk, CEO and Founder of SpaceX indicated that Starship could fly within four weeks. Musk has now modified this launch date and said the flight might happen in 2-3 weeks.

“So, it’s probably the end of August, I guess, and it may go to early September,” Musk said during a live broadcast of the X Takeover event.

Pushing the launch date to August or September could be related to the new modifications to both stages and the ground system.

The booster will perform a landing on the launch tower. Interestingly, chopsticks will catch the vehicle in the air as it completes the landing burn. This is the first time the company aims to recover the booster and Musk predicts that it has more than a 50 percent chance of achieving this milestone.

This confidence is driven by flight 4, in which, the booster marked a soft landing in the sea. The company is practicing with the tower arms and testing their flexibility for movement to pluck the booster.

On the other hand, Starship 5 spacecraft will have new tiles with improved heat resistance. Musk revealed that the company did achieve the soft landing last time but there were some loopholes.

During the descent, the ship lost many tiles and the heat affected those areas. Eventually, the ship maneuvered and performed a sea landing. Also, it landed about 6 miles away from the splash zone, which needs to be fixed in the next attempt.

So, Starship will have to land in the target zone with most of its tiles connected to the ship.

Talking about tests, SpaceX has completed static fires on Super Heavy and Starship spacecraft. Still, the FAA has not commented on the launch license, which is anticipated somewhere in August.