SpaceX rockets toward next Starship launch, set for October 13

Once more with feeling...

SpaceX has named the date when it will try for another Starship launch without anything exploding. October 13, which is both the Columbus Day / Indigenous People's Day holiday and the last day of Windows 10 support, is the current target.

Circumstances might push the launch back a little, but following a successful static fire in late August, confidence in the rocket is high.

That flight followed four consecutive failures (three in flight and one where SpaceX didn't bother to launch anything at all and exploded the vehicle on the ground instead). October's flight will be the final one of the version 2 variant of Starship ahead of version 3, which is due to debut in 2026.

The profile of Flight 11 looks very similar to Flight 10, except for a few twists. For one, the booster to be used previously flew on Flight 8 and will launch with 24 "flight-proven" Raptor engines. SpaceX does not plan to catch it this time, and instead will send it into the Gulf of Mexico after demonstrating a burn with five engines before transitioning to three engines for a hover over the ocean.

SpaceX said, "The planned baseline for V3 Super Heavy will use five engines during the section of the burn responsible for fine-tuning the booster’s path, adding additional redundancy for spontaneous engine shutdowns."

As for Starship, the aim is to again deploy Starlink simulators (eight, all of which will be on the same suborbital trajectory and so burn up on entry) and relight a single Raptor engine when in space. The plan remains for Starship to splash down into the Indian Ocean. SpaceX said "the flight test includes several experiments and operational changes focused on enabling Starship's upper stage to return to the launch site on future flights."

Eventually, the intent is for both the booster and upper stage to return to the launch site and be caught for reuse. Thus far, SpaceX has only attempted (and succeeded) in catching the booster section. While Flight 11 will not return the upper stage to the launch site, SpaceX will include a dynamic banking maneuver to test subsonic guidance algorithms before the landing burn and splashdown.

Starship V3 will be the incarnation of Musk's rocket that will make it to orbit (although there could be one more suborbital lob of the vehicle) and, as well as deploying a new generation of Starlink satellites, will also demonstrate in-space refueling. The latter is essential if the company is to fulfill its contract with NASA to provide a Human Landing System for the Artemis program. ®