We Now Know The Flight Profile of Starship Flight 5

Despite a launch license date estimate from the FAA of late November, SpaceX is trying to make a push toward Flight 5 of Starship. In a new update from by the company earlier today they provided a specific date of October 13th for the launch, only a week away, pending regulatory approval.

Obviously, those final few words are what really matters as SpaceX won’t be launching anything until they are approved by the Federal Aviation Administration. In addition to this specific date, they gave a detailed explanation of how the booster catch will or will not happen depending on certain mission criteria.

Credit:

Chapters:
0:00 - Intro
0:36 - Flight 5 Overview

[wkjeeping]

It also was the first time a reentry was fully watched

[Hoopaball]

The original Boca Chica licenses were for "test flights."
Hopefully, testing will resume soon.

[RogerM]

Wouldn't be surprised they have a fight path similar to flight 4, without the catching attempt. But with some additional tests, as with the payload hatch and relighting the engine at LEO.

[brycecohoon]

could launch if NASA or DOD were launch partners right?

[EinzigfreierName]

If the catch attempt really works this will be a huge milestone reached. Who cares if this happens a few weeks earlier or later? The result is what counts.

[fepatton]

This manual decision point seems like a good approach to enhancing the safety of a potential return/catch mission. Good on them.

Pretty sure this is the mode Falcon 9 uses, but without manual intervention. The reentry trajectory takes it off the coast, but angling the booster carries it toward the landing pad. If there are control issues, it can splash down short of the pad.

[catbertz]

Thank you as always for your clear and concise overview of events. I really appreciate your chosen style. 👍 As for this next test flight, I'm just boiling with excitement for whatever happens lol. It's gonna be wild!

[moonasha]

I hate the FAA's feet dragging so freaking much. It should not take this long to find out if a metal ring will hurt fish

[sarkaranish]

Starship is trying to do a brand new catch maneuver, so I understand the FAA wanting to be safe about it.

[speedhump]

How is the latest hurricane going to affect them? Could be a bluf if they know they will be shutdown for weather shortly.

[cubefox]

Did anyone notice that every video ends the same? 😂

"We have to wait and see how it progresses, and the impact it has on the space industry. Thank you very much for watching."

[thatall]

Just to say I don’t like Elon but I like space x ( it not what the video is about but I’m just saying)

[Hurricane]

Musk needs to keep his political mouth shut.

[otiebrown]

Special clearance.
Fire the FAA.
THE FAA says FIRE MUSK.

[ronweasley]

When you say 10s of thousands of hours it's not really that much at most 1000 hours on heat shield. So Annoying when people try to over exaggerate everything

[dronejunkieuk]

Very impressive, but not technically a 'starship' and Elon's ego will need something much bigger to escape earth's gravity 🤣

[i-love-space]

All SpaceX would have to do is NOT try to catch the booster. That is the modification that requires the updated license. They already have authority to launch without a catch. It would still he worthwhile, since they need to reenter without burn through of the Starship heat shield. The ship is still just a boilerplate.

[Tangloppen]

I hate what Elon has become.
A few years ago, I was a diehard Elon fanboy, dreaming of getting a Tesla.

Now, I got a Polestar instead.

[ForestFelvey]

Echo @brycecohoon comment that NASA could independently provide launch approval. And NASA has a real incentive, whereas the FAA has only the needs of a bureaucracy.

[curious]

"I'm from the government and I'm here to help