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Starship flight test 9

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This article is about the ninth flight test of the Starship+Super Heavy vehicle. For other launches of Starship, see List of Starship launches.

Starship flight test 9
Mission typeFlight test
OperatorSpaceX
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftStarship Ship 35
Spacecraft typeStarship (Block 2)
ManufacturerSpaceX
Start of mission
Launch dateNET May 2025[1]
RocketSuper Heavy (Block 1, B14-2)
Launch siteStarbase, OLP-A
End of mission
Landing site

Starship flight test 9 will be the ninth flight test of a SpaceX Starship launch vehicle. Ship 35 and Booster 14 will fly on this test flight. A specific date for the flight has not yet been publicly released.[2][3]

Background

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Vehicle testing ahead of launch

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Ship 35 was assembled in Mega Bay 2,[4] with the configuration of its heat shield hinting at catch hardware.[5] Ship 35 then underwent 3 rounds of cryo testing at Massey's Test Site on March 11 and 12 and was rolled back to the production site on March 13.[6] It was rolled out to Massey's for static fire on April 29.[7] A static fire attempt on April 29 was scrubbed for an unknown reason during propellant loading.[8] The test was completed on April 30,[9] simulating an "in-space burn" using a single engine.[10] It completed a second, long duration static fire on May 1.[11]

B14 was rolled back to Mega Bay 1 for refurbishment on January 18,[12] following its use on Flight 7.[13] It rolled to OLP-A on April 1, where it conducted a static fire test on April 3.[14] Following this test, SpaceX confirmed B14's assignment, as well as stating that 29 of its 33 engines had previously flown.[15] Booster 14 returned to the production site on April 8.[16] Its Hot Staging Ring (HSR) was moved to Mega Bay 1 on April 16 and installed on April 17.[17]

Impact of Flights 7 and 8

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After Flight 6, Elon Musk stated that Flight 8 could be the first 'catch' of the Ship should Flight 7's landing be successful.[18] Due to the failure of S33 to complete its ascent burn, this was delayed to a later mission,[19] along with the likely required insertion burn into Low Earth orbit.[20] Before Flight 8, Flight 9 was expected to feature the first ship catch attempt,[21] with FCC permits for Flight 9 stating the potential for a catch.[22] However, Flight 8 also failed during the ascent burn, delaying the ship catch to a future mission.[23]

References

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  1. ^ "Starship Flight 9 Preps, Chopstick Testing, and Pad B Progress Starbase Update". April 22, 2025. Retrieved April 22, 2025.
  2. ^ @nasaspaceflight (January 9, 2025). "With Booster 14 (Flight 7) at the pad, Booster 12 (Flight 5, which was caught and donated a Raptor to Booster 14) has moved from the Rocket Garden and is set to enter Mega Bay 1. Oh, and there's a Ship 35 section (Flight 9) at the end of the clip!" (Tweet). Retrieved January 9, 2025 – via Twitter.
  3. ^ @nasaspaceflight (December 11, 2024). "Booster 16 (Flight 9) CH4 tank is out in the sun at the Production Site, and a new tank is being lifted at the launch site" (Tweet). Retrieved December 11, 2024 – via Twitter.
  4. ^ NASASpaceflight (February 3, 2025). Pad B's Major Milestones: Chopsticks, Tank Farm, and Flame Trench Developments | Starbase Update. Retrieved February 4, 2025 – via YouTube.
  5. ^ NASASpaceflight (December 11, 2024). Primed To Fire and Rolled Back | SpaceX Boca Chica. Retrieved January 24, 2025 – via YouTube.
  6. ^ Priel, Elisar (March 13, 2025). "Starship S35 has been rolled back home to Mega Bay 2 at the Starbase Production Site after 3 rounds of cryo testing at Massey's in the last few days". Twitter. Retrieved March 13, 2025.
  7. ^ Starship Gazer (April 29, 2025). "Starship 35 has rolled out overnight to Massey's test site for upcoming long duration static fire testing ahead of Starship test flight 9". Retrieved April 29, 2025.
  8. ^ NASASpaceflight (April 29, 2025). 🚀 SCRUB: SpaceX Performs Static Fire of Ship 35 in Preparation for Starship Flight 9. Retrieved April 30, 2025 – via YouTube.
  9. ^ NASASpaceflight (April 30, 2025). SpaceX is Testing Ship 35 in Preparation for Starship Flight 9. Event occurs at 23:00. Retrieved May 1, 2025 – via YouTube.
  10. ^ "The Starship preparing for our ninth flight test completed a single engine static fire demonstrating an in-space burn". Twitter. May 1, 2025. Retrieved May 1, 2025.
  11. ^ NASASpaceflight (April 28, 2025). DOUBLE HEADER: Ship 35 Static Fire and Falcon 9 Launches Starlink 6-75. Event occurs at 1:07:40. Retrieved May 2, 2025 – via YouTube.
  12. ^ NASASpaceflight (January 19, 2025). The Starbase That Never Sleeps | SpaceX Boca Chica. Retrieved January 20, 2025 – via YouTube.
  13. ^ NASASpaceflight (January 9, 2025). SpaceX Launches Starship Flight 7 and Attempts Another Booster Catch. Retrieved January 17, 2025 – via YouTube.
  14. ^ NASASpaceflight (April 3, 2025). SpaceX Performs Static Fire of Flight-Proven Super Heavy Booster. Retrieved April 3, 2025 – via YouTube.
  15. ^ "Static fire of the Super Heavy preparing to launch Starship's ninth flight test. This booster previously launched and returned on Flight 7 and 29 of its 33 Raptor engines are flight proven". Twitter. April 3, 2025. Retrieved April 3, 2025.
  16. ^ NASASpaceflight (April 9, 2025). Post Static Fire, Booster 14 Rolls Back for More Preps | SpaceX Boca Chica. Event occurs at 10:41. Retrieved April 10, 2025 – via YouTube.
  17. ^ NASASpaceflight (April 19, 2025). "They're Moving Pretty Quickly There" | SpaceX Boca Chica. Retrieved April 24, 2025 – via YouTube.
  18. ^ Musk, Elon [@elonmusk] (November 19, 2024). "Successful ocean landing of Starship! We will do one more ocean landing of the ship. If that goes well, then SpaceX will attempt to catch the ship with the tower" (Tweet). Retrieved November 19, 2024 – via Twitter.
  19. ^ Clark, Stephen (January 17, 2025). "Fire destroys Starship on its seventh test flight, raining debris from space". Ars Technica. Retrieved January 28, 2025.
  20. ^ Starship's Most Daring Flight Yet!. NASASpaceflight. November 22, 2024. Event occurs at 6:20. Retrieved January 11, 2025 – via YouTube. A ship catch attempt on Flight 8 would mean that Starship will have to go into Orbit in order to return all the way back to Starbase.
  21. ^ Weber, Ryan (February 7, 2025). "Starbase making progress on second launch pad". NASASpaceFlight.com. Retrieved February 7, 2025.
  22. ^ "Super Heavy booster issue causes scrub of SpaceX's Starship Flight 8 – Spaceflight Now". Retrieved March 4, 2025.
  23. ^ NASASpaceflight (March 4, 2025). SpaceX Starship Flight 8 - Second Attempt. Event occurs at 3:29:00. Retrieved March 7, 2025 – via YouTube.
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