SpaceX is ready for the fifth test flight of the mighty Starship, the most powerful rocket ever to have flown.
The Elon Musk-led spaceflight company made the announcement in a social media post on Thursday, adding that it’s now waiting for a flight permit from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Once it receives approval, it could launch the rocket within days.
“Flight 5 Starship and Super Heavy are ready to fly, pending regulatory approval,” SpaceX said in the post on X (formerly Twitter).
Flight 5 Starship and Super Heavy are ready to fly, pending regulatory approval. Additional booster catch testing and Flight 6 vehicle testing is planned while waiting for clearance to fly pic.twitter.com/FFoGPEtztI
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) August 8, 2024
SpaceX added that while it waits for regulatory approval, it will continue to work on the catching process that it plans to use for the 71-meter-tall first-stage booster — called the Super Heavy — when it returns to Earth shortly after deploying the upper-stage Starship spacecraft to orbit.
The plan is for two giant mechanical arms on the launch tower to secure the booster as it descends toward SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas.
The system, once perfected, will allow SpaceX to quickly refurbish the booster, allowing it to be used for multiple flights.
The first four test flights saw the Super Heavy either explode in midair or land in the ocean after performing a landing burn, so there’s a lot of excitement around the upcoming fifth test as it attempts its first catch.
The Starship vehicle, which comprises the Super Heavy booster and the Starship spacecraft, took its first test flight in April 2023 and flew most recently in June 2024. Each flight has met an increasing number of technical objectives, taking the vehicle closer to the day when it will fly astronauts and cargo to the moon, Mars, and beyond.