According to news on November 7, the American space exploration technology company SpaceX announced on Wednesday local time that it will conduct another flight test of the giant rocket starship as soon as November 18. It has been less than a month since the last flight test of the Starship. During its fifth flight test, SpaceX used a robotic arm to successfully grab the Super Heavy booster as it returned to the Texas launch site.
Last month, SpaceX used the "chopsticks" on the launch tower to successfully recover the Starship first-stage booster and achieve a precise emergency landing of the Starship spacecraft on the other side of the earth, avoiding FAA investigation. Therefore, if a similar flight trajectory is still adopted, SpaceX can continue to move forward with the sixth flight test.
SpaceX plans to move forward with flight testing of Starship, albeit with some significant changes to the flight plan.
Fire up a Raptor engine in space
A statement released by SpaceX on its official website stated that the flight trajectory of the Starship first-stage booster Super Heavy booster will be similar to the fifth flight test on October 13. But the Super Heavy booster's hardware and software will be modified based on the experience from last month's flight test.
SpaceX said: "The hardware upgrades for this flight added additional redundancy to the booster propulsion system, increased structural strength in critical areas, and shortened the time to unload propellant after successfully capturing the booster." "Mission designers also updated software controls and submitted standards for booster launch and return."
The Starship spacecraft will also fly along the same suborbital path as the last flight test, but the spacecraft will re-ignite one of its six rocket engines during flight. This is the next milestone in the Starship development path and is critical to allowing Starship to carry out orbital missions and re-enter the Earth's atmosphere under controlled conditions.
Successfully demonstrating the ability to reignite the Raptor engines in space will allow SpaceX to begin flying commercial missions with Starship, and the company expects to begin launching Starlink satellites in the first half of next year. The new Starlink satellites can be directly connected to mobile phones. They are larger and can only be installed in the large payload bay of a starship.
SpaceX will also use Starship's next flight test to evaluate new insulation tiles and other related components.
A statement released by SpaceX said: "Several thermal protection experiments and operational changes will test the limits of the Starship's capabilities and generate flight data to provide information for future capture and reuse of the spacecraft." "This flight test will evaluate new secondary thermal protection materials and remove entire insulation tiles on both sides of the spacecraft to test the area reserved for spacecraft capture equipment. The spacecraft will also deliberately fly at a higher angle of attack during the final stage of descent, deliberately testing the limits of flap control, and collecting data on future landing options."
The last flight of the original starship
Since April 2023, Starship's first five flight tests have all launched at dawn from South Texas. For its next upcoming test mission, SpaceX plans to choose an evening launch window so the spacecraft can splash down in the Indian Ocean during the day.
The latest news from SpaceX also confirms that this will be the last flight of the original Starship ship. The new generation Starship has redesigned front flaps, larger propellant tanks, upgraded heat insulation tiles and a secondary thermal protection layer.
It's truly impressive that Starship has achieved a near-monthly flight cadence in just its second year of flying. But it is also crucial if SpaceX wants to realize the full potential of this giant rocket, because the rocket needs to be refueled multiple times to support Starship spacecraft on exploration missions to the moon or Mars.
Before SpaceX announced new news about another flight test of Starship, Trump had just won the US presidential election. It is worth noting that he received the full support of SpaceX founder Elon Musk in this election.
Musk's intervention in policy has caused controversy, but his strategy has paid off, and Trump's election may accelerate the development of the Starship project and strengthen its central position in the U.S. space industry.
However, the timing of this launch announcement is likely just a coincidence, as SpaceX does not need formal approval to conduct its sixth flight test, which depends on the preparation of the company's hardware, software and ground systems.