SpaceX will attempt to historically recover the Starship rocket on its return this Sunday.
Starship is ready for a new flight, and for the first time, SpaceX will attempt to recover the booster rocket, bringing it back to the launch site to catch it with a pair of mechanical arms.
SpaceX is preparing to conduct a new flight of the Starship, in which it will attempt to recover the booster using an innovative device reminiscent of giant "chopsticks." The launch is expected to take place on Sunday, within a window that begins at 5 AM PST (7 AM local time), from its facility at Starbase, located in southeastern Texas. This will be the fifth flight of the Starship development program and comes a bit earlier than anticipated, as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had indicated that it did not expect to issue a modified launch license for this test before the end of November. This situation had caused discomfort at SpaceX, which complained about what it considered inefficiencies on the part of the regulator. However, the launch is happening ahead of schedule, thanks to an announcement from the FAA that approved the flight for tomorrow.
The FAA reported that SpaceX met all safety, environmental, and other requirements necessary for this suborbital flight. Furthermore, the authorization includes approval for the next test flight, stating that "the changes requested by SpaceX for Flight 6 are within the scope of what has already been analyzed."
With a height of nearly 120 meters, the Starship is essential to SpaceX's ambition of making life multi-planetary, and it is also related to NASA's Artemis mission, which aims to return humans to the Moon. The company intends to rapidly reuse the Starship vehicle, which includes both the upper stage (also called Starship) and the Super Heavy booster. To achieve this, it needs to demonstrate the capability to recover and refurbish both components for future flights.
The main goals for this upcoming flight are twofold: the first capture test of the booster at the launch site and the controlled reentry and splashdown of the Starship in the Indian Ocean. It is worth noting that the controlled reentry of the upper stage was successful in the previous test conducted in June. However, capturing the booster would be an unprecedented event in rocket history. Unlike the regular landings of the Falcon 9 on autonomous platforms or on land, for this launch, the plan is for the booster to slow down and smoothly position itself between the "chopsticks" adjacent to the launch tower. These arms will close around the rocket once its engines stop.
SpaceX emphasized that thousands of criteria must be met to demonstrate that the vehicle and platform systems are in optimal condition for the capture attempt. If these criteria are met, the Flight Director will give a manual command to the booster before completing a trajectory adjustment maneuver called a flip boost, which will occur approximately 3 minutes and 40 seconds after liftoff. If this command is not issued in time or if automatic checks indicate unacceptable conditions, the booster will follow a trajectory that will lead it to land and splash down safely in the Gulf of Mexico.
The total launch and booster recovery time will be approximately 7 minutes. After separation, the Starship will continue its ascent to orbit, landing in the Indian Ocean about an hour after liftoff. While awaiting the launch license, SpaceX engineers have stayed busy conducting numerous tests on the launch tower, completely replacing the rocket's thermal protection system, and updating the software for reentry. They have also completed propellant loading tests and water deluge system tests for the platform, designed to protect it from the intense fire generated by the 33 Raptor engines of the booster.
The company ultimately plans to recover the upper stage of the Starship at the landing site as well, although that will be seen in future test flights. SpaceX mentions that with each flight, advances are made in learning and improvements in both hardware and operations of Starship, getting closer to demonstrating fundamental techniques for its fully reusable and rapid design. "By continually pushing our hardware in a flight environment, and doing so as safely and frequently as possible, we will quickly bring Starship to reality and revolutionize humanity's ability to access space."
