SpaceX officially announces ninth Starship flight launch date

SpaceX has officially announced that the ninth Starship flight test launch is targeting no earlier than Tuesday, May 27, at 6:30 p.m. CT from Starbase, Texas. This date could change based on weather conditions and launch preparations.

This new mega rocket launch comes two and a half months after flight eight, which met with an upper-stage failure. Recently, the FAA has concluded the eight-flight’s mishap investigation and approved this new launch.

This mishap has led SpaceX to make many new changes in the affected upper stage area to increase reliability. Specifically, the Ship 35, implied for this mission, will get an additional preload on key joints, a new nitrogen purge system, and improvements to the propellant drain systems.

These new fixes will address the hardware failure in one of the upper stage’s center Raptor engines that caused inadvertent propellant mixing and ignition during the eighth flight. SpaceX has also verified these upgrades through on-site testing, including over 100 long-duration Raptor firings at SpaceX’s McGregor test facility.

The objectives for the upper stage are the same as previous flights. It has to complete the ascent burn, maintain its trajectory, deploy Starlink simulators, mark an engine relight, and re-enter Earth’s atmosphere. The ship will also carry numerous experiments for future test missions and landing at the launch site.

SpaceX Starship liftoff (Credit – SpaceX)

For the first time, SpaceX will reuse a Super Heavy booster employed initially during the seventh flight test. To prepare the engine for reuse, the launch team has inspected reflight mechanisms and made its full refurbishment. The booster will equip 29 out of the 33 flight-proven Raptor engines.

The booster will also have its own set of experiments to gather data on future mission profiles and off-nominal scenarios. However, people who want to see the iconic booster catch will be disappointed because SpaceX will not be attempting to recover the first stage due to the safety of the launch infrastructure at Starbase.

Therefore, the super heavy will splash down in the Gulf of America after exhausting its last engine burn.

You can read more about the Ninth Starship Flight Test launch profile and details here on the official SpaceX website.