Starship Flight 5 - What To Expect
This article was written by logan_sx27, Magnum and OneMarsyboi
Super Heavy catch animation
Flight 5 of the Starship Super Heavy vehicle is scheduled for No Earlier Than (NET) October 13th, 2024, the launch window opens at 7am CDT and lasts for 1 hour and 10 minutes.
The previous 4 flights of Starship have seen major improvement in the performance of both the ship and booster. Each of these 4 flights were different, we went from a destroyed pad and a very under-performing vehicle to a successful soft splashdown of both the ship and booster. However, the one thing these 4 flights had in common was the planned sub-orbital trajectory. Although Starship makes its way across most of the world, the ship shuts off its engines just prior to orbital velocity. This means the ship will perform an on-target re-entry no matter what.
Flight 5 vehicles
Now, before we get into what's new on flight 5 and why it’s so important, let's take a look at the vehicles responsible for this historic mission.
Super Heavy Booster 12
B12 is ready to fly this historic mission. B12 is pretty much the same as B11, but there are some differences. B12 has additional reinforcements around its catch points, this is to give extra structural strength and support as these pins touch down on the tower arms. It also features redesigned Starlink terminals on the top portion of the chines, going from a circular dish to a squared one. The final observable major change to this Super Heavy booster is an additional FTS box.
December 2022: First components spotted
June 2023: Booster stacking begins
August 28th, 2023: Stacking complete
December 28th, 2023: Rolled to Massey’s for cryogenic proof test
January 10th, 2024: Cryo Test 1 to verify the booster’s structural integrity
January 12th, 2024: Cryo Test 2 to verify the booster’s structural integrity
January 19th, 2024: B12 rolled back to Production Site for engine installation
July 9th, 2024: Rolled to the Launch Site
July 11th, 2024: Cryo Test 3, a partial cryo test to test the tank farm
July 12th, 2024: Spin Prime: B12 conducted a spin prime, to verify all of the engines components worked
July 15th, 2024: Static Fire: B12 ignited all of its 33 engines for 9 seconds
July 16th, 2024: B12 rolled back to Production Site
September 20th, 2024: B12 rolled to the launch site with the HSR and was lifted to catch height
September 21st, 2024: B12 stacked with S30
September 23rd, 2024: Partial WDR 1: both vehicles were partially filled with LOX and CH4
October 7th, 2024: Partial WDR 2: both vehicles were partially filled with LOX and CH4
B12 & S30 Partial WDR.
Credit: SpaceX
Ship 30
Ship 30 is Booster 12s dance partner for flight 5. This ship comes with more upgrades and changes compared to the previous ship, S29. Just like B12, there are upgraded Starlink antennas on Ship 30 compared to previous versions. This is to increase signal strength to and from the ship. Ship 30 went under an extensive Thermal Protection System (TPS) change. This involved stripping most of the old tiles off of the vehicle, and replacing the with a newer version of the tiles that are “2x as strong”. There are also some tank vent changes for both the LOX and CH4 tanks.
September 2022: First parts spotted
July 21st, 2023: Stacking begins with the mating of the nosecone and payload bay in the High Bay
August 18th, 2023: Stacking complete
December 30th, 2023: Rolled to Massey’s for cryogenic proof tests
January 3rd, 2024: Cryo test 1 of both tanks to verify structural integrity
January 6th, 2024: Cryo test 2 of both tanks to verify structural integrity
January 9th, 2024: S30 rolled back to Production Site for engine installation
May 1st, 2024: S30 rolled to the launch site ahead of testing
May 7th, 2024: Cryo test 3, partial LOX filling with an aborted Static Fire
May 8th, 2024: Static Fire 1 of all the engines, where S30 ignited its engines for 4 seconds to test them; on June 5th RVac 378 was removed for unknown reasons and swapped
June 11th-July 20th, 2024: S30 underwent heatshield replacement after Flight 4 results that indicated critical areas such as the flap hinges; the heat shield was replaced with heat tiles 2x stronger and an underlying secondary ablative layer
July 26th, 2024: Static Fire 2 of all the engines for 7 seconds following S30’s rollout at Massey’s on the 21st; following this test, on August 3rd, RVac 398 was taken out in favour of RVac 384
August 6th, 2024: S30 rolled to Massey’s for engine testing ahead of RVac replacement
August 7th, 2024: Spin Prime test, where the engines are fired like in a static fire, but LOX is the exhaust instead of fire
August 9th, 2024: Rolled to Rocket Garden. It received additional checkouts and decal installation, “S30” and a Mechazilla Logo
September 20th, 2024: S30 rolled to launch site and stacked atop Booster 12
September 23rd, 2024: Partial WDR 1: S30 and B12 underwent a partial tanking test of both LOX and CH4
September 30th, 2024: S30 and HSR destacked ahead of chopsticks testing with water bags
October 6th, 2024: S30 restacked atop B12
October 7th, 2024: Partial WDR 2: S30 and B12 conducted a partial tanking test with both LOX and CH4.
S30 6 Engine static fire
Credit: SpaceX
Flight 5 v Flight 4
Starship flight 4 was an incredible victory for SpaceX, ending in a successful soft splashdown of both Ship 29 and Booster 11. This flight also proved engine out capability on Super Heavy as it lifted off with 32/33 engines ignited, followed by another engine out on landing burn startup. This flight also proved Starships ability to re-enter Earth's atmosphere and successfully land. Although the landing was successful, it was also roughly 6km off target, this was most likely caused by the major burn through on the right forward flap. Overall, this flight was a huge step forward in the Starship program, creating a path for flight 5 to make history.
Flight 5 of Starship is set to take place No Earlier Than (NET), October 13th, 2024. This was announced by SpaceX following the recent partial WDR. Although this is the date SpaceX is targeting, there is one major roadblock in the way of a potential launch. That roadblock is the FAA (read more in the FAA section).
Whenever SpaceX is given the green light to launch, we will witness history. SpaceX are going to attempt the first ever recovery of the Super Heavy booster, but this isn't just a landing like you see with Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy, SpaceX will attempt to catch the booster out of mid-air. To do this it has required “years of preparation and testing”. Now how will they catch the booster?
Starship tower arm technicians and engineers sat on the tower arms
Credit: SpaceX
The Starship launch tower is equipped with robotic arms that are used to lift, stack, destack and catch both the ship and booster. The booster will complete a 57-second boost back burn after stage separation putting it on a trajectory to land back at the launch site. Super Heavy will use its 4 grid fins located at the top of the vehicle to control its orientation through the atmosphere. Then, roughly 20 seconds before the expected touchdown, B12 will ignite the 13 center engines to slow down, and then shut down 10 of those 13 engines for final alignment. As it descends through the wide-open arms, the arms will close around the booster and ‘catch’ the vehicle using the arms’ landing rails and hardpoints on the booster. This will be the first time a recovery of this complexion and magnitude has ever been attempted, which is what makes this flight so historic. I promise you do not want to miss this mission.
However, in order for the catch to be attempted, all systems must be healthy. If not, B12 will redirect itself using the grid fins to complete a soft splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico. It is not confirmed what will happen if a catch is successful, as there have been issues with the hold down clamps on the OLM, leading all 20 clamps to be replaced after each flight.
Now onto Ship 30. S30 will continue firing its 6 engines for 5 minutes and 39 seconds according to the flight timeline, putting it on a near orbital trajectory. This trajectory allows for a 0-risk re-entry no matter what, putting it on a path to land in the Indian ocean at T+1:05:34. This is the same flight plan as Flight 4 for the ship. However, this time SpaceX will be hoping to make an on-target splashdown of Ship 30, paving the way for a return to launch site recovery for the ship. Now we’ve got the changes to the flight profile down, let’s actually take a look at what we can expect to see, from propellant load to ship splashdown.
Pre-launch countdown
T-1h 15m: LD verifies GO for prop load
T-49m 50s: Ship CH4 load begins
T-48m 40s: Ship LOX load begins
T-40m 40s: Booster CH4 load begins
T-34m 03s: Booster LOX load begins
T-19m 40s: Booster and ship engine chill begins
T-3m 20s: Ship propellant load complete
T-2m 50s: Booster propellant load complete
T-30s: LD verifies GO for launch
T-10s: Water deluge activated
T-3s: Raptor ignition sequence begins
T-0: Excitement guaranteed
Flight Timeline
Flight 5
T+2s: Liftoff
T+1m 2s: MaxQ
T+2m 33s: Booster MECO
T+2m 41s: Hot staging
T+2m 48s: Boostback burn startup
T+3m 41s: Boostback burn shutdown
T+3m 43s: HSR jettison
T+6m 08s: Booster is supersonic
T+6m 33s: Booster landing burn startup
T+6m 50s: Booster splashdown (if no catch attempt)
T+6m 56s: Booster catch
T+8m 27s: Starship engine cutoff
T+48m 03s: Starship reentry
T+1h 2m 34s: Ship is transonic
T+1h 5m15s: Landing flip
T+1h 5m 20s: Landing burn
T+1h 5m 34s: Ship splashdown
A webcast will go live 30 minutes before T-0; as it's a test flight, the schedule can rapidly change. Make sure to follow SpaceX and The Weekly Spaceman for updates to the timeline.
The FAA
The FAA is a government agency responsible for making aviation as safe and reliable as possible. For rocket launches, they are responsible for handing out launch licenses. As of October 8th, SpaceX has not been granted a license for this flight. However, reliable sources such as Christian Davenport and Eric Berger have hinted that a license is very possible, but not a certainty. One of the big tell tale signs is Ship 30 getting destacked for FTS installation. Even without the license, SpaceX may decide to continue with the launch day, as a license can be granted at any time until T-0. If they do proceed and don't receive a launch license, they can use this attempt as a full WDR.
On September 10th, 2024, SpaceX dropped an absolute bomb on the FAA after receiving news that a license won't be granted until late November at the earliest. This so-called ‘bomb’ was just a very long article berating the FAA's inability to work quickly and efficiently. Some of the main points SpaceX was mad about were:
· A 60-day delay due to a small change in the HSR splashdown location, which caused no affect to marine life.
· Issues regarding the use and documentation of the steel flame diverter, AKA water deluge plate.
· An attack on smaller agencies like fish and wildlife service over petty delays.
· Fines from the TCEQ and EPA over use of the water deluge system
Alongside that article, SpaceX also posted multiple times they are ready for flight in an attempt to put public pressure on the FAA. This appears to have worked as a launch license is expected to arrive 1 and a half months before the original date.
Final message
As soon as Sunday 13th October, we all get to witness history, a once in a lifetime mission. A first of its kind, and I promise you do not want to miss this. Make sure you tune in and support this mission as proving out this method of recovery, will open the door to the stars.