Elon Musk has introduced that SpaceX will delay the following check launch of its Starship, initially scheduled for this week. Throughout a livestream on X, Musk acknowledged that the seventh launch will probably be postponed by “three or 4 days,” possible rescheduling it for someday subsequent week. This replace follows SpaceX’s preliminary plan to conduct the seventh flight on Friday after efficiently launching Starship for its sixth time in November. The corporate goals to considerably improve its launch frequency this yr.
SpaceX has maintained a backup window for the launch, out there by way of January 16, indicating that the rescheduled launch may happen anytime between Monday and Thursday of subsequent week.
In a major milestone, this upcoming launch would be the first try by SpaceX to deploy a payload utilizing Starship. The plan consists of deploying as much as ten Starlink simulators as a part of the mission to evaluate the reusable ship’s deployment capabilities. Moreover, as a substitute of recovering the vessel with the “Mechazilla” arm, the Starship goals to splashdown within the Indian Ocean.
After its final launch, SpaceX knowledgeable the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that it seeks approval to conduct as much as 25 Starship launches every year. In the newest flight, the corporate determined in opposition to making an attempt to catch the rocket after efficiently splashing down the Tremendous Heavy booster within the Gulf of Mexico. Musk emphasised the aim of reaching a “sooner and tougher” catch of the Tremendous Heavy, with plans for “yet another ocean touchdown” earlier than making an attempt one other restoration.
Previous to the sixth flight, Musk outlined 4 targets for the check, which included the next:
1. Restarting Raptor engines in a vacuum.
2. Reaching a daylight touchdown of the ship.
3. Experiencing increased peak heating throughout reentry.
4. Executing a sooner and tougher booster catch.
In case you have any ideas on this replace, be happy to achieve out at zach@teslarati.com or discover me on X at @zacharyvisconti. You may also ship tricks to suggestions@teslarati.com.
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