SpaceX’s Starship Flight 5 Likely In Late August Or September, Says Musk
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SpaceX's fifth Starship test flight will most likely take place in September, according to fresh comments from CEO Elon Musk. Starship last flew in June as IFT-4, which marked the first successful soft splashdowns of the booster and the second stage ship. Since then, SpaceX has been busy developing its rockets for Flight 5, and as part of these preparations, it has tested the second stage's engines and the launch tower for the highly anticipated and risky tower catch.
This catch is the likely reason for the delay since it deviates from previous launches' flight profiles, and previous statements made by the company have shared that it is ready to fly the world's largest rocket for the fifth time as soon as it secures the FAA's approval.
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SpaceX Starship Flight 5 In "About 3 Weeks," Says Musk
After a considerable lull, SpaceX's latest Starship update came late last week when it shared on X that the rocket was ready to fly for the fifth time pending the FAA's approval. As it waits for the agency to evaluate the highly complex tower catch plan, SpaceX plans to test the rocket recovery operation further and continue vehicle development for Flight 6.
The FAA's approval might take the rest of August if Elon Musk's latest statement bears fruit. Musk shared on X yesterday that Starship Flight 5 would take place in "[a]bout 3 weeks," which implies that the test will most likely be delayed to September.
Earlier statements from him have speculated that a test could take place this month, but the risky nature of the tower catch appears to have extended the FAA's scrutiny after the agency had shared earlier that it could expedite Starship approvals if SpaceX chose to stick to its launch and recovery operations along with the flight path.
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