Highlights from SpaceX’s fifth orbital test flight of the Starship spaceship show the launch, separation and the first successful catch of the Super Heavy Booster in Texas on Oct. 13, 2024.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. – SpaceX is halfway to a spaceflight quadruple threat this week, as the company plans launches across four launch pads in three states, including another test flight of the Starship spaceship.
It’s not uncommon to see two SpaceX rockets stacked in Florida, at launchpads on Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and Kennedy Space Center property. However, four rockets preparing for or recently launching from all of its facilities across Florida, Texas and California is rare even for the company with more than 400 launches and counting, but it’s likely to be an increasing occurrence.
On Sunday evening, a SpaceX Falcon 9 launched the TD7 mission from Launchpad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, kicking off the first of four launches over three days in three states. Hours later in California, SpaceX launched a batch of Starlink satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches the TD7 mission from Kennedy Space Center launchpad 39A in Florida on Nov. 17, 2024.
(SpaceX)
Next, SpaceX will launch the NSIL GSAT-N2 mission from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Monday, during a two-hour launch window that opens at 4:29 p.m.
The grand finale of this week’s launches will culminate on Tuesday evening with another exciting test flight of Starship and the Super Heavy booster from SpaceX’s Starbase launch site in South Texas.
SPACEX CATCHES STARSHIP BOOSTER IN ‘MECHAZILLA ARMS’ IN HISTORIC FIRST
SpaceX Starship’s 30-minute launch window opens at 4 p.m. CT. The company will live stream the test on X, formerly Twitter.
This will mark the sixth flight test of the company’s mega-rocket and booster. During the fifth test less than a month ago, SpaceX successfully caught the Super Heavy booster using its Mechazilla “chopstick” arms back at the launch tower. It was the first try for this engineering milestone.
“The entire SpaceX team should take pride in the engineering feat they just accomplished. The world witnessed what the future will look like when Starship starts carrying crew and cargo to destinations on Earth, the Moon, Mars and beyond,” SpaceX said in a statement after the Oct. 13 test flight.
SpaceX’s Starship and Super Heavy boosters are designed to be fully reusable, landing and re-flying repeatedly.
A SpaceX Starship and Super Heavy booster stacked at the company’s South Texas launch site ahead of a planned sixth test flight on Nov. 19, 2024.
(SpaceX)
SpaceX said the test objectives for the sixth flight include catching the booster at the launch site once again, testing a suite of heatshield experiments and some changes for reentry and descent when landing Starship in the Indian Ocean.
NASA tapped Starship to be the agency’s first human landing system on the Moon since the Apollo program, but first, SpaceX must complete dozens if not hundreds of more test flights before flying humans. This year, SpaceX has picked up the pace on Starship test flights. Tuesday’s Starship flight will be the quickest turnaround between tests yet, with the fifth happening on Oct. 13.
Eventually, Starship will launch and land from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
NASA is targeting 2026 to return humans to the Moon under the Artemis program. However, that goal has shifted several times. An audit of the program by NASA’s Office of Inspector General found the Artemis III mission might not happen until 2027.