SpaceX will attempt to repeat the historic booster capture maneuver performed during the previous test flight of Starship and Super Heavy. Credit: SpaceX
SpaceX is targeting the sixth test flight of its Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy booster, which features the largest and most powerful rocket system ever built, as early as Monday. Both the rocket and booster were moved to the launch stand this week to be stackable.
The mission, which like previous Starship flights, will be live streamed on the SpaceX website X accountwill feature a second attempt to capture the booster above the launch pad using a pair of metal “wandstick” arms. SpaceX successfully completed the unprecedented maneuver, a critical step toward fully reusable Starships and Super Heavys, during the previous test flight.
Unless postponed due to weather or other factors, live coverage of SpaceX will begin 30 minutes before the launch window opens at 5pm EST on Monday. After activating the flame deflector system and firing the Super Heavy’s 33 Raptor engines, Starship will lift off from the launch pad at the company’s star base at the southern tip of Texas.
In a few minutes, Super Heavy will shut down and separate from the spacecraft, hurtling back towards Earth at supersonic speed. About seven minutes into the mission, SpaceX expects to return the booster to Starbase after it slows to a hover.
Refining booster capture, performed using a pair of robotic arms attached to a tower the company calls “Mechazilla,” is key to increasing the Starship’s launch cadence. SpaceX hopes to reduce the time between missions from months to days, or even hours, by quickly capturing, offloading and returning Super Heavy – and eventually Starship itself – to the platform.
After the separation of the stages, the huge rocket will fly approximately to the other side of the world. In orbit, SpaceX will reignite one of Starship’s six Raptor engines to demonstrate its deorbit combustion capability. The spacecraft will have to brake so it can refuel at an orbital propellant depot before heading to the moon on NASA’s Artemis 3 mission.
After approximately 45 minutes of flight, the Starship will re-enter the atmosphere enveloped in a glowing plasma. SpaceX will be watching closely: For Flight 6, the company removed some of the rocket’s heat shield tiles in places where Mechazilla’s wand arms might one day grab it. Engineers will evaluate how the new configuration holds up as the company prepares to capture Starship on a future mission.
After performing a rollover maneuver and landing burn, the Starship will dent in the Indian Ocean around 6:05 pm EST, about an hour after liftoff.
A successful capture and reentry of the booster could pave the way for the launch of Flight 7 within a few weeks. Monday’s launch, if it were to happen, would come just over a month after the previous test flight. But any major change to the mission would require the company to update its FAA launch license, which can be a lengthy process.
Editor’s Note: This story first appeared on FLY.
