During the seventh Starship test flight slated for next Monday, Starship will de- ploy Starlink simulators. (Courtesy photo/SpaceX)
By ALEXANDREA BAILEY
editor@portisabelsouthpadre.com
According to SpaceX officials, Boca Chica and the entire Lower Laguna Madre could witness the seventh test flight of the Starship “as soon as” Monday, Jan. 3, with the launch window opening at 4 p.m. This flight was originally slated for Friday, Jan. 10, as confirmed by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, but was rescheduled.
People from all over the world can witness the launch live, as it will be streamed on spacex.com, on X @SpaceX and the new X TV app. According to SpaceX.com, the webcast will kick off 35 minutes prior to liftoff.
“The schedule is dynamic and likely to change,” stated SpaceX officials.
SpaceX will be debuting many upgrades to the Starship with this launch. Officials believe these upgrades will show “major improvements to reliability and performance.” Upgrades include a reduction in the spacecraft’s forward flaps, which have been shifted towards the vehicle tip and away from the heat shield. SpaceX says this will “significantly reduce exposure to reentry heating while also simplifying the underlying mechanisms and protective tiling.” Another upgrade cited by SpaceX with the goal of longer flights as the priority, is the redesign of the propulsion system, “including a 25 percent increase in propellant volume, the vacuum jacketing of feedlines, a new fuel feedline system for the vehicle’s Raptor vacuum engines, and
an improved propulsion avionics module controlling vehicle valves and reading sensors.”
Starship’s avionics also got a major facelift, with a more powerful flight computer, integrated antennas combining Starlink, GNSS and backup RF communication functions into each unit, redesigned inertial navigation and star tracking sensors, and integrated smart batteries and power units that distribute data and 2.7MW of power across the ship to 24 high-voltage actuators.
30 vehicle cameras will give engineers “insight into hardware performance across the vehicle during flight.”
With this launch, SpaceX is planning to deploy 10 Starlink simulators. SpaceX engineers describe the simulators as similar in size and weight to next-generation Starlink satellites. They will share the same suborbital trajectory as Starship, which will splashdown in the Indian Ocean at approximately one hour, six minutes and 37 seconds after liftoff if all goes as planned. SpaceX will attempt another Super Heavy Booster catch. This will be the third attempt. SpaceX successfully caught the Super Heavy Booster on Oct. 13, 2024, but was unsuccessful the following month in their second attempt, witnessed by president-elect Donald Trump from Starbase in Bocca Chica, on Nov. 19, 2024.
“This new year will be transformational for Starship, with the goal of bringing reuse of the entire system online and flying increasingly ambitious missions as we iterate towards being able to send humans and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon and Mars,” stated SpaceX officials.
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