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Starship flight test 9
Planned launch of SpaceX launch vehicle From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Starship flight test 9 will be the ninth flight test of a SpaceX Starship launch vehicle. Ship 35 and Booster 14-2 will fly on this test flight. This flight is expected to occur no earlier than (NET) May 27, 2025 at 23:30 UTC (6:30 pm CDT, local time at the launch site).[1] The Ship will attempt to achieve the objectives originally planned for Flights 7 and 8, which both failed. This mission's booster, the first Super Heavy to re-fly, is slated to undergo experiments in-flight to have its capabilities assessed under off-nominal flight conditions,[2] and will splash down instead of being caught.[3][4]
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Background
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Vehicle testing ahead of launch
Ship 35
Ship 35 was assembled in Mega Bay 2,[5] with the configuration of its heat shield hinting at catch hardware.[6] Ship 35 then underwent 3 rounds of cryo testing at Massey's Test Site on March 11 and 12 and was rolled back to the production site on March 13.[7] It was rolled out to Massey's for static fire on April 29.[8] A static fire attempt on April 29 was scrubbed for an unknown reason during propellant loading.[9] The test was completed on April 30,[10] simulating an "in-space burn" using a single engine.[11] Following a scrubbed attempt earlier in the day, it underwent a second, long duration static fire on May 1.[12] However, according to NASASpaceflight, this static fire did not follow the trend seen previously during Ship 34's static fire, with Ship 35 experiencing an abnormal shutdown around the T+36 second mark.[13] SpaceX has yet to confirm the issue seen during this static fire publicly. Ship 35 was then rolled back to Mega Bay 2 on May 2 for inspection and returned to Massey's on May 10.[14] A static fire attempt on May 11 was scrubbed right after the deluge system activated,[15] subsequently Ship 35 successfully completed a 6 engine long duration static fire (64 seconds), the longest ship static fire seen to date, on May 12.[16] It rolled back to Mega Bay 2 on May 13.[17]
Ship 35 then rolled back to Masseys on May 21,[18] and attempted to conduct testing on May 22, with the first attempt being scrubbed[19] and a subsequent attempt being conducted later the same day.[20]
Booster 14
B14 was rolled back to Mega Bay 1 for refurbishment on January 18,[21] following its use on Flight 7.[22] It rolled to OLP-A on April 1, where it conducted a static fire test on April 3.[23] Following this test, SpaceX confirmed B14's assignment, as well as stating that 29 of its 33 engines had previously flown.[24] Booster 14 returned to the production site on April 8.[25] Its Hot Staging Ring (HSR) was moved to Mega Bay 1 on April 16 and installed on April 17.[26] B14 subsequently rolled from Mega Bay 1 to OLP-A on May 12.[27] B14 was then destacked from OLP-A on May 16, and rolled back to Mega Bay 1 on May 17.[28]
Impact of Flights 7 and 8
After Flight 6, Elon Musk stated that Flight 8 could be the first 'catch' of the Ship should Flight 7's landing be successful.[29] Due to the failure of S33 to complete its ascent burn, this was delayed to a later mission,[30] along with the likely required insertion burn into low Earth orbit.[31] Before Flight 8, Flight 9 was expected to feature the first ship catch attempt,[32] with FCC permits for Flight 9 stating the potential for a catch.[33] However, Flight 8 also failed during the ascent burn, delaying the ship catch to a future mission.[34] The FAA determined that the failure of Flight 8 did not impact public safety on May 22.[35] Besides conducting Ship and Booster static fire tests at Starbase, SpaceX extensively tested individual Raptor 2 engines for longer durations at their McGregor facility to address and mitigate the issues found in Flight 8, among other tests.[36]
Return to Flight
On May 15, the FAA confirmed they had approved license modifications for Flight 9, with SpaceX having submitted their mishap report for Flight 8 on May 13.[37] The FAA then confirmed on May 22 that they had reviewed the mishap report submitted by SpaceX and authorised Starship to return to flight by issuing a Return to Flight Determination.[38] The mishap report for Flight 8 remains open.
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Mission Profile
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The mission profile for flight test 9 will be similar to that of the previous flight, targeting a splashdown in the Indian Ocean along with the deplyoment of eight intentionally destructible Starlink "simulators" which were also expected to reenter over the Indian Ocean.[2] However, the booster will not attempt a catch, instead splashing down in the Gulf of Mexico after multiple experiments during descent, including deliberately not igniting one of the center engines for the landing burn.[2]
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References
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