SpaceX is moving forward with preparations for Starship flight 5 after having moved out the second stage Starship spacecraft from its processing site on a mobile static fire stand. After the fourth Starship flight last year, which was notable for its forward flap catching fire during reentry, SpaceX decided to replace all of the ship's thousands of heat shield tiles to prepare for the fifth flight. By the looks of it, the ship might be heading for a static fire attempt before the fifth test flight to complete another pre flight test.
SpaceX's Starship Flight 5 Likely To Take Place In August As Ship Completes Early Preparations
SpaceX's upper stage Starship for the fifth flight has been under the works for quite some time. Even before flight four took off early last month, SpaceX had static fired the ship as part of its rapid testing pace that aims to cut the time between the tests. However, the fourth flight saw the second stage's upper fin catch fire, and immediately after the test, SpaceX started to replace all of heat shield tiles as part of an upgrade.
Footage from local media shows that most of Flight 5's ship's heat shield tiles have been replaced. While the ship's first static fire was on a ground pad adjacent to the launch pad, SpaceX has demolished this site. Future static fires, especially for the ship, should occur on a mobile test tower positioned far from the orbital test stand on a repurposed gun ranch. Called the 'Massey's site', SpaceX has previously tested its rocket tanks there, and over the past couple of months, it has significantly upgraded the infrastructure to support static fires.
These upgrades include test tanks and a flame trench, and the Flight 5 Starship upper stage might be the first to witness a static fire at Massey's.
The fifth test flight will be a key one for the second stage. SpaceX's first full stack Starship flight in 2023 was filled with problems that focused on the Super Heavy booster not only suffering from multiple engine failures but also failing to successfully separate from the second stage ship. SpaceX fixed the stage separation by adding an inter stage ring on the booster, and subsequent tests since that have seen few to little engine failures as well as successful engine re lights for landing burns.
However, for the second stage, Starship has yet to conduct an in space engine re ignition, which is key for its multiple mission profiles. Firing up a rocket engine in space is tricky, as it requires engineers to manage fuel temperature and tank pressures in the vacuum of space. SpaceX's rare Falcon 9 second stage engine failure also occurred during an in space engine re light, with the firm blaming it on a liquid oxygen leak.
Apart from re verifying engine performance for the Flight 5 Starship second stage, a static fire should also help SpaceX test the new heat shield tiles. Starship launches and tests have often seen these tiles fall off due to the extreme vibrations, and engineers should be on the watch out for similar occurrences during a potential static fire. As for the booster, after its successful static fire, the next key watch out point should be the installation of the inter stage ring before a potential wet dress rehearsal ahead of a launch next month.
S30 has been transferred onto the static fire stand and moved, overnight, to the Massey's outpost. pic.twitter.com/J44vuDorJy
— LabPadre Space (@LabPadre) July 21, 2024
About the author: Ramish is a seasoned technology writer and editor with more than a decade of experience. He specializes in semiconductor fabrication and market analysis. With a background in finance and supply chain management - via his bachelors in Finance and a micromasters in supply chain management from MIT - Ramish combines financial rigor with deep industry insight to deliver accurate and authoritative coverage.
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