SpaceX Starship launch: Live updates

Elon Musk says the Flight 5 spacecraft is ready for launch

SpaceX’s Flight 5 Starship and Super Heavy rocket are fully stacked and a day away from launch, and CEO Elon Musk says the company is excited to attempt its first-ever booster catch.

“Looks like the spacecraft might fly on Sunday! This is the largest and most powerful flying object ever built with more than twice the thrust of a Saturn V Moon rocket,” Musk said. Written on X Late Friday. “We’ll try to catch it when we return to the launch site using Mechazilla’s arms like giant chopsticks (like the Karate Kid)!”

While SpaceX hopes to catch up with the Super Heavy rocket, the company may opt to “soft-land” it in the Gulf of Mexico if anything appears inappropriate for the flight.

“SpaceX engineers have spent years preparing and months testing to try to catch the booster, with technicians spending tens of thousands of hours building the infrastructure to maximize our chances of success. We accept no compromises when it comes to ensuring the safety of the public and our team, and a return attempt will only take place.” “If the conditions are right.” Written in the mission overview.

“Thousands of distinct vehicle and pad parameters must be met before attempting the re-entry and capture of the Super Heavy booster vehicle, which will require intact systems on the booster and tower and a manual command from the mission flight director,” SpaceX added. “If this command is not sent before the booster burn is complete, or if automated safety checks show unacceptable conditions with Super Heavy or the tower, the booster will default to a course that takes it to a descent burn and soft landing in the Gulf of Mexico.”

SpaceX and Cameron County officials They issued a sonic boom warning For residents who live in the general area surrounding the company’s Starbase facility so they can anticipate the roar of Super Heavy’s return.

The Federal Aviation Administration allows SpaceX to launch the spacecraft on October 13

SpaceX officially announced the launch of the Starship Flight 5 test flight of its new giant rocket after obtaining a launch license from the Federal Aviation Administration. The launch is scheduled to take place on Sunday, October 13, at 8 AM EST (1200 GMT).

“The FAA has issued a license amendment that allows SpaceX to launch multiple Starship/Super Heavy missions in Flight Mission Profile 5,” FAA officials wrote in a statement today (October 12). “The FAA determined that SpaceX met all safety, environmental and other licensing requirements for the suborbital test flight.”

In this test flight, SpaceX will launch the Starship and Super Heavy rockets, which together are the world’s largest and most powerful rockets, and attempt to return the booster to its launch pad at the company’s Starbase facility and grab it with giant arms. “Mechazilla” pillow structure. Meanwhile, the Starship rocket will fly on a path that will take it over the Indian Ocean, where SpaceX hopes to make a smooth re-entry and “soft landing” in the ocean.

SpaceX aims to launch Starship Flight 5 on October 13

SpaceX said on Friday, October 11, that its upcoming Starship rocket could launch as early as Sunday, October 13, pending final FAA regulatory approvals. Take-off is targeted for no later than 8 a.m. EDT (1200 GMT) on October 13If approvals come in time. A live stream of the launch will be available on this page at the time of launch.

The next test flight, called Starship Flight 5, will lift off from SpaceX’s Starbase test site near Boca Chica Beach in South Texas, the same site where four previous Starship test launches have been conducted. This flight is intended to build on the success of SpaceX’s Starship Flight 4 on June 6, which was the first spacecraft to reach space and a soft “soft” landing in the Gulf of Mexico for the rocket’s massive Super Heavy booster.

For Flight 5, SpaceX hopes to replicate the success of Starship’s trajectory to target a landing site in the Indian Ocean. But for the first time, SpaceX will also attempt to return the rocket’s massive Super Heavy booster, powered by 33 Raptor engines, to the launch pad. There, SpaceX will attempt to catch the booster on the “chopsticks” of the massive Mechazilla launch pad structure. The system is designed to eventually allow rapid conversion of Starship Super Heavy boosters for flight.

“The spacecraft is stacked before its fifth flight test.” SpaceX he wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday afternoon (October 11). “We expect regulatory approval to occur in time for October 13.”

SpaceX and CEO Elon Musk have repeatedly said they were ready to launch Starship Flight 5 since August, but FAA reviews and proposed fines related to environmental concerns about the rocket’s water deluge system have stalled.

Last month, the FAA said it would likely take until November to issue a license to launch Starship Flight 5 due to additional reviews related to the water deluge system, which FAA officials have asked to consult with other regulatory agencies. Meanwhile, SpaceX is also facing potential FAA fines of up to $633,000 related to the Falcon 9 rocket launch. SpaceX has expressed anger over the Starship 5 flight delays and potential fines, and has threatened to sue the FAA over the latest issue.

“We find ourselves falling behind for unreasonable and annoying reasons,” SpaceX he wrote in a blog post “Unfortunately, we are still stuck in a reality where it takes longer to complete government paperwork to authorize a rocket launch than it does to design and build the actual hardware. This should never happen and directly threatens America’s position as a leader in space.”

When fully assembled, SpaceX’s Starship and Super Heavy rocket is approximately 400 feet (122 meters) tall, making it the tallest and most powerful rocket in the world. Both the spacecraft and its super-heavy booster are designed to be reusable, although Expedition 5 mission does not plan to recover the spacecraft.

NASA has selected SpaceX’s Starship as the lunar lander for its Artemis 3 mission, which aims to send up to four astronauts to the moon for a manned landing sometime in 2026. SpaceX has also sold at least one Starship flight to an American billionaire Jared Isaacman, with reservations for another spacecraft trip around the moon. A Starship trip around the moon booked by Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa earlier this year has been cancelled.

We will post updates about Starship Flight 5 and subsequent test flights and missions here as events warrant.