SpaceX Starship Integrated Flight Test 9

[Elderberry]

SpaceX Fixed Starship V2 Problem, Get Ready for Flight 9 Next Month...

GREAT SPACEX

SpaceX Fixed Starship V2 Problem, Get Ready for Flight 9 Next Month...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMF-NjSHZjU

[Elderberry]

Everyday Astronaut reposted

NSF - NASASpaceflight.com
@NASASpaceflight
·
31m
MILESTONE STATIC FIRE! Booster 14, after being caught during Flight 7, has conducted a Static Fire test as a major milestone for reusability and potentially could fly on Flight 9!

https://twitter.com/i/status/1907805576094011500

[bigheadfred]

 

[Elderberry]

UPCOMING LAUNCH

Starship's Ninth Flight Test

The ninth flight test of Starship is preparing to launch as soon as Tuesday, May 27. The launch window will open at 6:30 p.m. CT.

A live webcast of the flight test will begin about 30 minutes before liftoff, which you can watch here and on X @SpaceX. You can also watch the webcast on the X TV app. As is the case with all developmental testing, the schedule is dynamic and likely to change, so be sure to check in here and stay tuned to our X account for updates.

After completing the investigation into the loss of Starship on its eighth flight test, several hardware changes have been made to increase reliability. You can read the full technical summary of the mishap investigation here.

The upcoming flight test marks the first launch of a flight-proven Super Heavy booster, which previously launched and returned on Starship’s seventh flight test. In addition to the reuse milestone, Super Heavy will fly a variety of experiments aimed at generating data to improve performance and reliability on future boosters. The Starship upper stage will repeat its suborbital trajectory and target objectives not reached on the previous two flight tests, including the first payload deployment from Starship and multiple reentry experiments geared towards returning the vehicle to the launch site for catch.

Super Heavy is designed to be fully and rapidly reusable, with future generations capable of multiple launches per day. To achieve this first ever reflight, extensive inspections took place following the booster’s first launch to assess hardware health and identify where maintenance or replacement hardware was needed. Known single-use components like ablative heat-shielding were replaced, but a large majority of the booster’s hardware will be flight-proven, including 29 of its 33 Raptor engines. Lessons learned from the first booster refurbishment and subsequent performance in flight will enable faster turnarounds of future reflights as progress is made towards vehicles requiring no hands-on maintenance between launches.

The booster on this flight test is also attempting several flight experiments to gather real-world performance data on future flight profiles and off-nominal scenarios. To maximize the safety of launch infrastructure at Starbase, the Super Heavy booster will attempt these experiments while on a trajectory to an offshore landing point in the Gulf of America and will not return to the launch site for catch.

More: https://www.spacex.com/launches/mission/?missionId=starship-flight-9

[Elderberry]

🚀 Flight 9 Launches Today – Starship Is Ready!

3 hours ago

Later today at 6:30 PM CT, SpaceX will launch Booster 14-2 and Ship 35 from Starbase, Texas, kicking off the 9th Starship test flight — and it’s packed with upgrades, testing goals, and excitement.

We’ve attached the official Flight Route, Test Timeline, and Countdown Overview so you can follow every key moment of this mission — from propellant load to splashdown.

Booster 14-2 is targeting a landing burn and splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico, while Ship 35 will attempt a full-duration flight, in-space Raptor reignition, controlled reentry, flip maneuver, and soft ocean landing.

Mission highlights:

Hot-staging at T+2:37

Payload Deploy Demo at T+18:26

Raptor in-space relight at T+37:49

Starship entry, flip & landing starting at ~T+1:06

We’re on the ground and ready to capture it all. Thank you for making our coverage possible — and for being part of this incredible journey. Join in for the Launch: https://youtube.com/live/krVI5ZQ32Ho

Looking forward to meeting you there! - Team WAI

[Cyber Liberty]

 

[bigheadfred]

 

[Elderberry]

The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful of the Starship 9 Test Launch

Legal Insurrection by Leslie Eastman 5/29/2025

Much valuable data was collected and some important milestones achieved.

SpaceX conducted the ninth test flight of its Starship launch system this Monday from Starbase, Texas. This mission marked several firsts and aimed to further SpaceX’s goal of developing a fully reusable, heavy-lift rocket system for missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

Starship 9 was the first flight to reuse a Super Heavy booster and attempt significant hardware reuse on Starship. The mission reached its planned engine cutoff and achieved a higher apogee than previous flights, providing valuable data for future improvements.

However, as with every test, there were a few hiccups. I will summarize the good, the bad, and the beautiful results from this test.

THE GOOD

As noted previously, this flight marked the first time SpaceX launched a previously flown Super Heavy booster (B14-2), an essential step toward full vehicle reusability. The booster executed a boost-back burn and attempted a splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico under deliberately more stressful conditions to gather data on off-nominal flight profiles.

    The Super Heavy, meanwhile, used a different method for flipping around for the trip back to the launch site in a bid to save propellants. It was also programmed to fly a much steeper descent than usual to learn more about the thermal and aerodynamic stresses it can safely endure.

    “The booster will attempt to fly at a higher angle of attack during its descent,” SpaceX said on its website. “By increasing the amount of atmospheric drag on the vehicle, a higher angle of attack can result in a lower descent speed which in turn requires less propellant for the initial landing burn.”

“Getting real-world data on how the booster is able to control its flight at this higher angle of attack will contribute to improved performance on future vehicles, including the next generation of Super Heavy,” SpaceX said.

More: https://legalinsurrection.com/2025/05/the-good-the-bad-and-the-beautiful-of-the-starship-9-test-launch/