SpaceX Starship Flight 7: Launch Date and Test Objectives

SpaceX Starship Flight Test 7 will unfold new achievements after completing its objectives and the company will have a lot more to do in the future if everything goes well on the launch date. Last month, SpaceX lifted Starship Flight 6 from Boca Chica, Starbase, Texas, with new improvements over its predecessor.

Static Fire

This month, SpaceX fired the Super Heavy Booster 33 Raptor engine for a static fire test. We also witnessed this test for the upper stage.

Furthermore, the company also fired a single Raptor engine to practice space-like thrust functionality. These tests are combined with tank pressurization and ground system checks.

SpaceX Starship Single-Engine fire test (Credit – SpaceX)

Starship Flight 7 Objectives

During Flight 6, SpaceX successfully called hot-staging and returned the booster to the landing site. Unfortunately, the landing parameters failed this vertical landing on the launch tower, and the booster was deflected to the sea for a splashdown. It was later confirmed that the booster was healthy but the tower wasn’t.

Flight 7 will have an opportunity to repeat this catch attempt. Still, the fail-safe plan will stay in place and deflect the booster to the sea if anything goes wrong.

On the other hand, the second stage will polish all of its progress starting with hot-staging. The ship will coast through the sub-orbit for more than 30 minutes. During this, it will perform a single-engine relight space vacuum to check its functionality.

The company has been testing this engine for the past three missions and the last one was the first to see a success.

The difficult objectives for the second stage will start as soon as the ship renters Earth’s atmosphere.

Flight 6 was the most successful in this segment, the ship not only survived the high heat but also performed a final burn for a vertical splashdown in the Indian Ocean. SpaceX also changed the mission timing to noon to see the ship landing in the sunlight.

SpaceX Starship Flight 6 Liftoff (Source – SpaceX)

New Ship

SpaceX will employ a new ship with Flight 7 with design upgrades including a forward flap, large propellant tanks, and a new heat shield with an added layer of thermal protection.

The success rate for this mission will decide future attempts for ship landing on the launch site.

Starship Flight 7 Launch Date

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has officially published a new license for Starship Flight 7 but a launch date was not mentioned in the document. A previous report suggests that SpaceX could attempt a launch as soon as January 11, 2025.

This launch seems possible the rocket maker is keeping all objectives in place and no major changes have been made in this segment.