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In the wake of a partially successful third Starship test flight less than three weeks ago, SpaceX appears to be moving full speed ahead with its fourth Starship test flight attempt next month. After it had to deal with a long and arduous regulatory approval process in 2023 that caused a considerable delay for the second Starship IFT in November, SpaceX picked up the pace and tested the full stack rocket for the third time last month.
Immediately after the test, SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell shared that the firm plans to test Starship next month, and considering the progress made at the test sites in Texas, it appears that the fourth Starship stack might fly soon.
SpaceX Ships Booster To Launch Pad For Potential Key Test Before Launch
Before it can launch a rocket, particularly one that is still under development, SpaceX must run a variety of tests. These include pressurizing the rocket’s tanks to ensure they can handle the correct propellant pressures, checking different systems at the launch pad and firing up the engines to see if they can handle the stresses of flight. The engine tests are called static fires, and the rockets are either shifted to the launch site or a test mount.
SpaceX has sped up its pre flight Starship tests for IFT-4, and within weeks of IFT-3, it static fired the second stage Starship’s engines twice. The first test was a full stack firing and the second was for a single engine. Both of these are crucial for an orbital test attempt, as while the second stage Starship fires all its engines at the time of stage separation, SpaceX will also test a single engine in space as part of an additional test during IFT-4.
Seemingly all done with testing the second stage Starship rocket, SpaceX now appears to be readying itself to fire up the 31 engines on the Starship Super Heavy booster. This is the biggest rocket booster in the world, and the multiple IFTs that SpaceX has conducted so far have seen it improve engine reliability from multiple engine misfires at launch to the full complement firing up.
Footage from local media shows that the Starship Super Heavy booster that will presumably fly IFT-4 is now at the launch pad. This indicates that either a static fire test is due for later this week, or SpaceX might be testing other changes made on the rocket after the third test last month.
In this test, while all of Super Heavy’s engines successfully lit up at launch, they appeared to struggle to re light at the time of landing. The rocket’s landing profile requires it to be vertical in order to be caught by the launch tower’s ‘chopsticks,’ and to reduce its speed, the rocket fires up its engines before landing.
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If SpaceX successfully static fires the Super Heavy, then depending on the FAA’s approval process, the next Starship launch could take place next month. After a static fire, the next step will see the second stage stacked on top of the Super Heavy for a wet dress rehearsal that loads the two rockets with fuel and propellant to simulate a pre launch environment.
Flight 4 next month https://t.co/1Fb0Pro9u8
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 5, 2024