SpaceX Starship Flight 10 launch announced for August 24

SpaceX has officially announced that the Starship Flight 10 could launch as soon as August 24, finally scheduling this flight after a major delay due to a vehicle explosion in a past on-site test.

The company is targeting a launch window at 6:30 p.m. CT on Sunday, August 24, but the flight could face delays or postpone based on several factors, including launch preparedness and weather conditions.

The company has confirmed that the Flight 10 ship has been verified with new upgrades. The data observed from Starship flight Test 9 and the Ship 36 static fire anomaly hardware have provided the company more room to improve the ship design. The new ship also has operational changes to increase reliability.

The initial Flight 10 launch was expected for June or July, but the test fire blast has pushed back these plans. Therefore, SpaceX had to test a new ship for Flight 10, but it didn’t take long to make it ready for a flight.

Similar to the last flight, the super heavy employed for this flight will have its milestones and tasks. That includes multiple landing burn tests and experiments to gather real-world performance data to improve future flight profiles and off-nominal scenarios.

SpaceX Starship Engine Static Fire (Source – SpaceX)

After taking off from the launch pad and performing the stage separation, the booster will flip in a controlled direction prior to a boostback burn. This maneuver will verify a similar move during Flight 9 and requires less propellant to be held in reserve. A major benefit of mastering this maneuver will allows the rocket maker to use more propellant during the ascent phase and increase the payload mass to orbit.

Moreover, the booster will perform the landing sequence with only two Raptor engines to gather performance-related data. Unfortunately, SpaceX won’t attempt to catch the booster when it returns to Earth with the Starship Flight 10. Instead, it will splash down in the Gulf of America.

The upper stage will be aiming for its objectives, including eight Starlink simulator payload deployment, conducting several experiments for future launch site landing, thermal performance of tiles, as well as rocket hardware. The ship will continue its journey as it experiences high heat and splash down in the Indian Ocean after exhausting its final burn.

(source)