SpaceX plans to launch Starship’s fourth flight test in June

LOS ANGELES, California| Xinhua | SpaceX plans to have the fourth flight test of its giant Starship rocket as soon as June 5, pending regulatory approval, according to the company.

SpaceX had Starship’s third flight test in March, but the company lost communication with the vehicle before it made it to its planned splashdown location in the Indian Ocean.

SpaceX said the third flight test made tremendous strides towards a future of rapidly reliable reusable rockets. The test completed several exciting firsts, including the first Starship reentry from space, the first ever opening and closing of Starship’s payload door in space, and a successful propellant transfer demonstration.

The fourth flight test will focus from achieving orbit to demonstrating the ability to return and reuse Starship and Super Heavy, said SpaceX. The primary objectives will be executing a landing burn and soft splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico with the Super Heavy booster, and achieving a controlled entry of Starship.

Flight 4 will fly a similar trajectory as the previous flight test, with Starship targeted to splashdown in the Indian Ocean.

SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket, collectively referred to as Starship, represent a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry both crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond. ■