Will Spacex's fifth Starship test flight be the first successful launch and return to launch site for a booster? And as preparations ramp up at Starbase, significant milestones have been achieved, suggesting a promising trajectory for this next test flight. Activities at Starbase are intensifying as the 5th Starship flight draws nearer. Major work has been completed on Launchpad B and Ship 30 has completed a second static fire with full stack testing on the
close horizon. On July 15th, Booster 12 successfully fired all 33 engines and a full duration static fire test at Launchpad A, and the booster was then removed from the orbital launch mount on July 16th and returned to Mega Bay One. Meanwhile, a hot stage ring entered Mega Bay 2, believed to be for finalizing Booster 12. Now, the hot stage ring is a crucial component believed to finalize Booster 12 before SpaceX gives it a thorough review and integrates it with Ship 30.
Preparations are ongoing at Launchpad A for Booster 12's return to launch site landing with upgrades to the chopstick arm actuators to protect the booster during landing, and significant developments have also occurred at Starship Launchpad B in the past two weeks. 2 modules or modules 2-3 and four have been stacked and concrete has been poured to stabilize the tower base. The 5th and 6th modules are at the launch site awaiting integration now.
According to a recent FAA document, the tower at Launchpad B could be completed by August 15th, though it's more likely to be finished towards the end of August. A new, larger version of the orbital launch mount, or the OLM, has also appeared in FAA Environmental Assessment documentation. There is an increased likelihood of a flame trench being built under the new OLM as piles continue to be driven into the ground.
Now deliveries to the Sanchez site continue with Launchpad B shortened chopsticks arriving on July 17th and the chopstick carriage on July 18th. Now Module 7-8 and nine of the tower are receiving preliminary upgrades. At the Sanchez site, the CC88 OO crane will need reconfiguration after stacking the 6th tower section to reach the intended
final height of the new tower. Now at the production site, 3 Raptor C level engines and three Raptor vacuum engines we're seen heading into Mega Bay 2 for installation on Ship 31. Now ship 31 has since moved into the high Bay taking ship 30s old spot at the tile integration station. Now ship 31 is receiving a heat shield similar to ship 30s with a focus on enhancing Starship survivability through orbit.
And Ship 32 is confirmed to be a test article and it won't fly with the first black two Starship expected to fly on the 7th flight. Ship 33, the first Block 2 Starship is under construction in the high Bay, featuring new Leeward flaps, updated tiles around the nose cone, and a smaller heat shield tile on the flaps. Now the payload Bay is shrunk, adding about 300 tons of propellant space, but still offers around 500 cubic meters
of usable space. Now the Starlink dispenser payload Bay door has been installed on Ship 33, which has seen moved from the highway to Mega Bay 2, and the F section of Booster 15 has also moved into Mega Bay one featuring extra composite overwrapping pressure vessels or COPV to help with
booster landing. Now there's another test article too, Test tank 16, and it was rolled out to Massey's and placed on the test stand on July 19th and it did a cryogenic testing on July 25th and then it was moved into the Star factory. It's unclear if further testing is going to occur or is necessary in the future. Now, Ship 30 completed major test operations after a successful heat shield upgrade.
On July 19th, it was lifted onto a static fire stand and moved to Massey's for a final firing due to a Raptor vacuum engine removal. On July 26th, Ship 30 successfully static fired all six engines. Now the upgraded heat shield on Ship 30 performed well with no tiles believed to have fallen off during the test. Ship 30 was then moved back to the production site and later to Sanchez, awaiting finalization and roll out of Booster 12 for full stack testing before the next launch.
Now the goal for the final Black One ships is to perfect the heat shield and ensure Starship can actually survive re entry. Efforts to improve Ship 30's heat shield are aimed at gathering re entry data to be used in the Block 2 vehicles and also Block 3, leading to a more complete design. Now. Full stack testing is expected to begin soon with the 5th flight and the first RTLS landing of a Super Heavy booster possibly less than a month away.
The ambitious test marks a critical step in Spacex's development of a reusable launch vehicle, and they're making final preparations for the 5th and most challenging Starship flight yet. Unlike previous flights aiming for sea splashdowns, they will attempt a landing back on the launchpad using the Mecca Zilla tower equipped with chopsticks. And Starship is the heaviest and most powerful rocket ever flown, intended to be a rapidly reusable vehicle for large
payloads. Successfully test flighting over the past two years, and it's progressively moved towards that goal. Now NASA has contracted SpaceX to develop a lunar Lander variant of Starship for astronaut missions to the Moon, expected sometime after late July or late 2026. We don't know exactly when, but Elon Musk's ultimate vision is to use Starship to land humans on Mars. Now, Flight 5 aims to catch Starship Super Heavy Booster on the launchpad for the first
time. The tower will attempt to grab the booster with his chopsticks and secure it, allowing it to be slowly lowered down to the ground. Now, previous flights saw significant progress, with the 4th flight achieving a virtual landing at sea to simulate a Mechazilla catch. The upcoming flight builds on that success and the data from that, with Musk indicating a 50% chance of a successful Mechazilla catch.
That's usually his thing, 50% Now the official launch date is not yet set, but a full duration test burn of the Rockets first stage on July 15th indicates readiness. Elon hinted at early August launch but that's not going to happen. More than likely sometime in September, possibly later in previous test flights. And that's because the FAA previous test flights demonstrated various levels of success with each providing valuable data for new improvements.
And the 4th flight restore bit and completed soft splashdowns. The Starship for entry caused some heat damage, now addressed with new heat tile designs, and any issues during this next launch will provide critical data for refining future designs and processes. The iterative approach allows rapid progress with each test flight, making even partial successes valuable for the development of this gigantic
rocket. Now this is the riskiest flight yet, as catching the booster at the launchpad involves potential hazards to both the craft and ground hardware. Despite the risks, the test will significantly advance Spacex's goal of a fully reusable rocket system. Now, if you'd like Spaceflight, please take a second and hit the subscribe button and the like button because it helps out the
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Re return to the launch site is the major milestone for this launch. I know that Cathy Leaders, the basically the boss of Starbase has said they might not attempt it this time, but I don't know. Let me know what you think in the comments down below. Take care and I will see you in the next one.