SpaceX Starship 6: Here are the six things you need to know about this flight

This afternoon, SpaceX will launch Starship Flight 6 from Boca Chica, Starbase Texas and the launch vehicle has some interesting maneuvers to show us, so, here are the six things you should know about this test flight before it lifts off.

• Pre-Approved FAA license
• New Launch Time
• Live Views via Starlink
• Second booster catch
• Starship Coasting –Views of Earth
• Reentry and Splashdown

Pre-Approved FAA license

SpaceX has been flying these large test flights since April 2023. Due to a new launch vehicle, the FAA created a new vehicle profile for this rocket and SpaceX requires a new license each time it changes the rocket design or its objectives.

The five tests have two things in common. The first is success and the second is anomaly. Every test flight has lifted off, achieved milestones, and experienced anomaly for the first or the second stage.

The combination of these two has led to the third phenomenon which is license approval. After each anomaly, SpaceX need to conduct an investigation to find the root cause of the malfunction and submit a report of corrections to the FAA to get a new flight license.

Past licenses took more than a quarter but Flight 5 did everything up to the mark and ticked all objectives as planned. Hence, flight 6 earned a pre-approval and flying within a month of the last flight.

SpaceX Starship Stacked on the Launch Mount at Starbase, Texas (Source – SpaceX)

A new launch time

SpaceX has picked a new liftoff window for this flight that will open at 4:00 p.m. CT for 30 minutes compared to 8:25 a.m. EDT from flight 5 and prior launches.

This new schedule will allow the rocket maker to observe the second-stage splashdown in the Indian Ocean. We may also have a chance to watch the second stage’s final moments in daylight if everything goes right.

This is an important step to collect as much as data possible to try to validate the flight’s last-second status, vehicle health, and its final burn.

Starlink

SpaceX will provide live coverage for not only the liftoff but for the entire mission. It means you will see the visuals coming from the rocket including hot-staging, engine burn, sub-orbital phase, reentry, and possibly the second-stage splashdown.

Second Booster Catch

SpaceX will try to catch the booster for the second time with a fail-safe plan activated in case anything goes wrong as the booster makes its way to the launch site.

That being said, the company has made some improvements in the launch tower and the booster to polish the catch mechanism.

Earth View

Following hot-staging, the ship will coast for almost 40 minutes in sub-orbit, and Starlink will provide the Earth’s overview from space. These views will continue to come as the spacecraft moves to the reentry point.

Reentry and Splashdown

SpaceX has installed new heat shield tiles in the upper stage to improve the thermal system and endure the maximum heat. The aim this time would be to reduce the reentry damage to the lowest while retaining all of the thermal systems for reusability.

The reentry phase will last for 17 minutes and end with a landing flip and landing burn in the following few minutes.

So, SpaceX Starship Flight 6 will have plenty of sightings that you may not want to miss and you can tune in to the livestream to see all the updates as it unfolds.