Starship Flight Test 5: A Historical Milestone!
Why SpaceX Starship IFT-5 Launch and Catch is a monumental achievement ? (Oct 13, 2024) – by Frederic Eger – Starship flight test 5 is the fifth flight test of a SpaceX Starship launch vehicle, featuring the Ship 30 upper-stage and Booster 12. The test includes the first “catch” of the Super Heavy booster using the Orbital Launch Mount A tower at the Starbase launch site.
SpaceX’s Starship IFT-5 mission, launched on October 13, 2024, aims to take another step towards full and rapid reusability. The primary objectives include attempting the first ever return to the launch site and catch of the Super Heavy booster and another Starship reentry and landing burn, aiming for an on-target splashdown of Starship in the Indian Ocean.
SpaceX engineers have spent years preparing and testing for the booster catch attempt, with technicians pouring tens of thousands of hours into building the infrastructure to maximize their chances for success.
Thousands of distinct vehicle and pad criteria must be met before a return and catch attempt of the Super Heavy booster, which will require healthy systems on the booster and tower and a manual command from the mission’s Flight Director. If this command is not sent prior to the completion of the boostback burn or if automated health checks show unacceptable conditions with Super Heavy or the tower, the booster will default to a trajectory that takes it to a landing burn and soft splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico.
Starship will fly a similar trajectory as the previous flight test with splashdown targeted in the Indian Ocean, maximizing public safety while still providing the opportunity to meet the primary objective of a controlled reentry and soft water landing of Starship.
A key upgrade on Starship ahead of flight was a complete rework of its heatshield, with SpaceX technicians spending over 12,000 hours replacing the entire thermal protection system with newer-generation tiles, a backup ablative layer, and additional protections between the flap structures.
Technical development included design revisions on Ship 30, including a new vent on the liquid methane tank and another vent with a new valve design on the liquid oxygen (LOX) tank.
Two arrays of small radio antennas were redesigned and relocated near the payload bay instead of the ship’s nosecone, with one array concealed beneath the ship’s heat shield. Static fire testing of Ship 30 occurred in early May in preparation for flight 5, and Booster 12 moved to the launch pad on July 9.
A static fire of Booster 12 was completed on July 15 and Ship 30 static fire was conducted on July 26.
On September 21, S30 was stacked onto B12, with SpaceX claiming that this stack was for Flight 5, “pending regulatory approval.”
This success has not been as smooth as it might look.
The FAA had been expected to issue a launch permit in September but publicly announced that it would be delayed to late November 2024 due to environmental complaints and because SpaceX chose to attempt a “catch” of the Super Heavy booster. SpaceX refuted the environmental complaints and accused the agency of regulatory overreach.
The FAA reiterated in early October that it did not plan to issue a permit until late November; however, it was unexpectedly moved up, with a permit issued on October 12, 2024 to allow a flight test on October 13.
On June 12, the FAA said that no mishap investigation would be required prior to the launch of flight 5. SpaceX applied for a communications license from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) with a start date of July 19. By early August, the Starship rocket was ready to fly for flight test 5.
In September, SpaceX communicated that the FAA had shifted their license approval timeframe from later that month to November.
SpaceX wrote about issues with the FAA’s licensing processes for Starship flight tests, stating that they ensured public safety above the success of their own flights and acknowledged that the flight would require the FAA additional time to provide a license because of the unique booster catch attempt.
Following 14 complaints to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), SpaceX was fined by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for discharging industrial water without the specific permit for doing so. The EPA fined SpaceX an assessed penalty of $148,378.
SpaceX also disclosed that biologists had conducted independent biological monitoring for birds near Starbase for 10 years, in a protocol developed by the US Fish & Wildlife Service, and that the monitoring had not shown any impact to bird populations.
SpaceX pointed out that the FAA approved a 60-day consultation with the National Marine Fisheries Service over the possible landing of flight 5’s booster into the ocean, while the rest of the launch industry disposing of expendable boosters into the ocean were exempt from such consultation.
In a meeting of the U.S. House Subcommittee on Science and Aeronautics, U.S. Representatives Brian Babin (R-TX) and Haley Stevens (D-MI) expressed concerns about the pace of license processing under the FAA’s Part 450 commercial launch and reentry regulations, which could impact the Artemis program. SpaceX claimed that government paperwork prevented it from flying Starship quickly to meet commitments to the Artemis program.
The FAA reiterated that the license authorizing Starship test flight 4 allowed for multiple flights of the same vehicle configuration and mission profile.
However, SpaceX chose to modify both in an attempt to “catch” the Super Heavy booster through a return-to-launch-site maneuver, triggering a more in-depth review.
On October 2, a Notice to Local Mariners was released that listed a launch operation occurring on October 12. The same day, the FAA reiterated that its previous position had not changed and did not expect to approve a new mission profile with a catch of the Super Heavy booster before late November, but that SpaceX may attempt another flight of the same vehicle configuration and mission profile as flight test 4.
Despite its previous statements, the FAA moved up its timeframe and issued a license for the launch on October 12. The mission profile for flight test 5 differs substantially from the previous flight, with B12 shutting off its engines thirteen seconds earlier and returning to the launch site for the catch.
With each flight building on the learnings from the last, testing improvements in hardware and operations across every facet of Starship, SpaceX is on the verge of demonstrating techniques fundamental to Starship’s fully and rapidly reusable design.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has announced a timeline for sending crews to Mars following the success of the Starship IFT 5 mission. The company plans to launch five uncrewed Starship missions to Mars within the next two years, coinciding with the next Earth-Mars transfer window. If these missions are successful, SpaceX aims to launch crewed missions in about four years.
However, if challenges arise, this timeline could be pushed back by an additional two years, potentially delaying crewed flights to around six years. Musk had previously projected that the first uncrewed Starship would land on Mars within five years, with the first crewed landing occurring within seven years.
The successful completion of these tests is critical for meeting Musk’s ambitious goals for Mars exploration and establishing a human presence there.
SpaceX’s Mars plans are ambitious and rely on the outcomes of upcoming uncrewed missions.