SpaceX Starship orbital test flight

The SpaceX Starship's first orbital test flight is expected to launch once SpaceX makes environmental adjustments to Starbase, the planned launch site, as required by the Federal Aviation Administration,[2][3] and obtains a launch licence. SpaceX plans on using Starship prototypes Ship 24 and Booster 7. The Starship second stage may enter a transatmospheric Earth orbit with a positive perigee in the atmosphere. This will allow Ship 24 to reenter the atmosphere after completing around one orbit without having to restart its engines for a deorbit maneuver.

Starship Orbital Test Flight
Illustration of a full stack on the launch pad
Mission typeTest flight
OperatorSpaceX
Mission duration90-100 minutes (planned)
Orbits completed<1 (planned, 250x50km)
Start of mission
Launch dateApril 17-20, 2023 (planned)[1]
RocketStarship
Launch siteStarbase, Texas
ContractorSpaceX
End of mission
Landing dateTBD
Landing sitePacific Ocean near Kauai
Orbital parameters
RegimeTransatmospheric Earth orbit or Suborbital
 

SpaceX currently refers to this flight as the first integrated flight test.[4]

Background
Further information: SpaceX Starship and SpaceX Starship development

Starship is planned to be a fully reusable super heavy-lift launch vehicle, designed by SpaceX.[5] Made up of two stages, Starship is planned to be used for satellite deployment, space tourism, and interplanetary spaceflight.[6][7]

Mission

The vehicle will launch from Starbase, at Boca Chica, Texas, on the United States Gulf Coast.[8] The booster and spacecraft will separate about 170 seconds into the flight. The booster will partially return and land about 20 miles (32 km) offshore in the Gulf of Mexico. The spacecraft will execute a deceleration burn while reentering the atmosphere and then perform a propulsive landing in the Pacific Ocean, about 62 miles (100 km) northwest of Kauai.[9] More recent filings suggest that SpaceX wants to keep the possibility of catching the Super Heavy booster.[10] SpaceX is now targeting the launch date on April 17.[11]

See also

References
  1. "Starship-Super Heavy Orbital Test Flight". NextSpaceflight. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  2. @elonmusk (16 March 2023). "SpaceX will be ready to launch Starship in a few weeks, then launch timing depends on FAA license approval. Assuming that takes a few weeks, first launch attempt will be near end of third week of April, aka …" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  3. Sheetz, Michael (13 June 2022). "FAA requires SpaceX to make environmental adjustments to move forward with its Starship program in Texas". CNBC. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
  4. "Starship fully stacked at Starbase. Team is working towards a launch rehearsal next week followed by Starship's first integrated flight test ~week later pending regulatory approval". Twitter. 6 April 2023. Archived from the original on 7 April 2023. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  5. "Starship". SpaceX. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
  6. Roulette, Joey (11 February 2022). "What Is Starship? SpaceX Builds Its Next-Generation Rocket". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  7. Petrova, Magdalena (13 March 2022). "Why Starship is the holy grail for SpaceX". CNBC. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  8. "SpaceX may send Starship on its first orbital flight in December". Engadget. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
  9. "Starship Orbital - First Flight FCC Exhibit".
  10. "SpaceX wants to attempt Starship booster catch during first orbital launch". 12 July 2022.
  11. Bergin, Chris (6 April 2023). "Starship into final preps for launch targeting second half of April". NASASpaceFlight. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
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