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SpaceX to Launch Ninth Starship Test Flight with Refurbished Booster

Return-to-flight clearance by the FAA set the stage for expanded hazard zones with new orbital experiments to test Starship’s performance.

SpaceX’s Starship rocket and Super Heavy booster are set for their ninth integrated test flight following back-to-back mishaps. Credit: SpaceX
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Overview

  • The launch window opens at 7:30 p.m. EDT on May 27 from Starbase, marking SpaceX’s third Starship attempt this year and ninth overall.
  • For the first time, SpaceX will fly a previously launched Super Heavy booster that will conduct stress tests before splashing down off the Florida coast instead of a tower catch.
  • The FAA granted return-to-flight approval after investigating two recent upper-stage failures and expanded the aircraft hazard area to 1,600 nautical miles east of Texas.
  • The Starship upper stage will attempt to deploy eight Starlink satellite simulators, relight a Raptor engine in space, and conduct heat-shield and reentry trials.
  • A successful flight is key to SpaceX’s goal of ramping up to 25 annual launches from Texas and to validating Starship’s role in NASA’s Artemis moon-landing program.