Starship is ready for its 5th test flight, SpaceX says (photos)

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'Flight 5 Starship and Super Heavy are ready to fly, pending regulatory approval.'

closeup of a conical rocket nose towering above a wetland landscape at sunset
The upper stage of the SpaceX Starship that will conduct the vehicle's fifth test flight is seen at the company's Starbase site in South Texas in August 2024. (Image credit: SpaceX)

SpaceX has vetted its newest Starship megarocket ahead of its upcoming test flight, the company says.

Starship, the biggest and most powerful rocket ever built, consists of two fully reusable elements — a huge first stage called Super Heavy and an upper-stage spacecraft known as Starship, or simply Ship. A stacked Starship has flown four times to date, but SpaceX plans to boost that tally soon.

"Flight 5 Starship and Super Heavy are ready to fly, pending regulatory approval," the company said via X on Thursday afternoon (Aug. 8). "Additional booster catch testing and Flight 6 vehicle testing is planned while waiting for clearance to fly."

SpaceX posted this photo of a Starship Super Heavy booster on X on Aug. 8, 2024. (Image credit: SpaceX)

That regulatory approval would presumably come from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, which issues licenses for launches from American soil. 

Related: SpaceX test-fires Super Heavy Starship booster ahead of 5th flight (video)

As for the second part of that post: SpaceX intends to catch the returning Super Heavy during the Flight 5 mission, using the "chopstick" arms of the launch tower at its Starbase site in South Texas. 

SpaceX has never tried this before. During the first four Starship test flights — which took place in April 2023, November 2023, and March and June of this year — the company aimed to bring Super Heavy down for a splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico. 

SpaceX achieved this on the June flight, which the company hailed as a complete success. The Starship upper stage splashed down as well, surviving its reentry to Earth's atmosphere and coming down in the Indian Ocean.

This was a first for both Starship stages: Neither Super Heavy nor Ship hit the water intact on any of the first three test flights.

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SpaceX has already tested the engines on both of the Flight 5 vehicle's stages, lighting up Super Heavy's 33 Raptor engines on July 15 and Ship's six Raptors on July 26. These tests, known as static fires, are common prelaunch trials for rockets. 

SpaceX has big plans for Starship, viewing the vehicle as a breakthrough that will make settlement of the moon and Mars economically feasible at long last.

Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community@space.com.

Mike Wall
Mike Wall
Senior Space Writer

Michael Wall is a Senior Space Writer with Space.com and joined the team in 2010. He primarily covers exoplanets, spaceflight and military space, but has been known to dabble in the space art beat. His book about the search for alien life, "Out There," was published on Nov. 13, 2018. Before becoming a science writer, Michael worked as a herpetologist and wildlife biologist. He has a Ph.D. in evolutionary biology from the University of Sydney, Australia, a bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona, and a graduate certificate in science writing from the University of California, Santa Cruz. To find out what his latest project is, you can follow Michael on Twitter.

44 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Meteoric Marmot
    When I use chopsticks, food occasionally goes spinning across the room. Looking forward to SpaceX's attempt to use them. :D
    Reply
  • ZZTOP
    Admin said:
    SpaceX's latest Starship megarocket is ready to fly, the company announced on Thursday afternoon (Aug. 8).

    Starship is ready for its 5th test flight, SpaceX says (photos) : Read more
    If this one fails like the other 4 will they still clap and claim success?
    Reply
  • Unclear Engineer
    Has Musk or anybody in SpaceX given any estimated probability for successfully catching the booster with the chopsticks on their first try? I noticed that they erected another launch tower, so I am suspecting that they are preparing for failure and some damage on the first attempt, and don't want that to delay subsequent launches while they fix any damage. But I am sure they are hoping for success on the first try.

    Fingers crossed, here
    Reply
  • ZZTOP
    Unclear Engineer said:
    Has Musk or anybody in SpaceX given any estimated probability for successfully catching the booster with the chopsticks on their first try? I noticed that they erected another launch tower, so I am suspecting that they are preparing for failure and some damage on the first attempt, and don't want that to delay subsequent launches while they fix any damage. But I am sure they are hoping for success on the first try.

    Fingers crossed, here
    Are there chopstick catchers on the moon and mars? No there are not, so what is the point in doing something that can't be done off Earth?
    Reply
  • Cariboudjan
    ZZTOP said:
    Are there chopstick catchers on the moon and mars? No there are not, so what is the point in doing something that can't be done off Earth?

    Because Starship isn't only going to other planets. It's also for "earth to earth" travel. It also needs to dock again on its return journey for resupply, and having it on chopsticks greatly reduces its turn-around time for re-use.
    Reply
  • Unclear Engineer
    For flight test 5, it is only the booster that will be engaged with the "chop sticks". Those just go up and (hopefully) come back to the position that they launched from. That is intended to make for efficient reuse.
    Reply
  • ZZTOP
    Cariboudjan said:
    Because Starship isn't only going to other planets. It's also for "earth to earth" travel. It also needs to dock again on its return journey for resupply, and having it on chopsticks greatly reduces its turn-around time for re-use.
    Actually it is called the starship because its stated purpose is to go to the moon and mars, except now it has proven that it cannot land as intended even on the Earth

    4nR718ryFnQView: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/4nR718ryFnQ

    So there also needs to be a methane producing plant on mars.

    Who builds that?
    Reply
  • Unclear Engineer
    "StarShip" upper stages will be of many different designs, depending on purpose. The one that NASA is contracting to land on the Moon will have landing legs because there will be no chop sticks on the Moon when NASA gets there. That version might not even have reentry tiles if it is just going to orbit the Moon, serving as the local taxi for multiple trips from lunar orbit to lunar surface. Similarly, tanker versions that will repeatedly carry fuel to the lunar taxi from low earth orbit probably will not be equipped for reentry or landing, because that is not part of their mission. And, upper stages that are to become modules for orbiting space stations likewise would not have reentry or landing equipment.

    Most people already seem to know those things.
    Reply
  • Cariboudjan
    ZZTOP said:
    Who builds that?
    Hypothetically, an entire small self-contained plant that is fully autonomous could be deployed as cargo on the first successful landing on Mars. But to answer your question more succinctly, likely a team of suicidal astronauts who will carry out its construction and die on Mars, of which likely Mars' first established colony will be named after.
    Reply
  • ZZTOP
    Cariboudjan said:
    Hypothetically, an entire small self-contained plant that is fully autonomous could be deployed as cargo on the first successful landing on Mars. But to answer your question more succinctly, likely a team of suicidal astronauts who will carry out its construction and die on Mars, of which likely Mars' first established colony will be named after.
    Nope because the only room for cargo is used for food, water and O2. If you run the math, you will see this as the trip takes 9 months to 3 years depending on the launch window. Then it is another 9 months to 3 years back. Even if the urine is filtered the food cannot be stored nor could the O2 and does anyone ever actually take a shower. Have fun not 4 me
    Reply