Well folks, it’s time for the first booster RTLS and chopsticks catch attempt!
| Scheduled for (UTC) | 2024-10-13 12:25 |
|---|---|
| Scheduled for (local) | 2024-10-13 07:25 (CDT) |
| Launch Window (UTC) | 2024-10-13 12:00 to 2024-10-13 12:30 (30 minutes) |
| Launch site | Pad A, SpaceX Starbase, TX, USA. |
| Booster | B12 |
| Ship | S30 |
| Booster landing | Chopsticks catch at Pad A or soft water landing in Gulf of Mexico |
| Ship landing | Indian Ocean |
Webcasts
| Stream | Link |
|---|---|
| Space Affairs | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07kCgVCMCfA |
| Everyday Astronaut | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIKI7y3DTXk |
| Spaceflight Now | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyR_M5rCL64 |
| NASASpaceflight | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YC87WmFN_As |
| LabPadre | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOJ54Y22cVI |
| The Launch Pad | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpB62C9wWNA |
| VideoFromSpace | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42QHfZzGZs0 |
| SpaceX | https://x.com/SpaceX/status/1845210284270682178 |
| The Space Devs | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfuxxqc5yaI |
Stats
Sourced from NextSpaceflight and r/SpaceX:
☑️ 3rd Starship Full Stack launch this year
☑️ 5th Starship Full Stack launch overall
☑️ 98th SpaceX launch this year
☑️ 409th SpaceX launch overall (including Starship hops)
☑️ 3rd launch from Pad A this year
☑️ 128 days, 23:10:00 turnaround for this pad
Mission Details 🚀
- SpaceX website (current): Starship’s Fifth Flight Test
Link to Starship Dev thread
One of my favourite videos of the catch, because of what happens when the sonic booms arrive!: https://youtu.be/749dRxbSkVU (They’re at 6:51.) Also it’s a different angle from most of the others, because it’s from Mexico.
And a playlist: Starship IFT5 booster catch, original footage only
It’s launch day!
Currently T-5.5 hours, and NSF are live with pre-launch coverage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVUji1BLLjw
Chopsticks have opened wide.
Tank farm is spooling up.
:::happydance::: spaace…thefinalhfronteeah
Liftoff!
Mission control callout: “Starship has entered the atmosphere, remains on a nominal entry trajectory.”
Freakin’ phenomenal execution for this flight! Booster and Starship both performed exactly as designed! Successful catch for Super Heavy, and on target landing for Starship! Footage from SPI is also amazing to see!
Boostback burn shutdown, tower is go for catch!
Looks like they’re now targeting the end of the window: https://x.com/SpaceX/status/1845424870655398102
The Starship team is go for prop load, and weather is looking ideal for today’s flight test!
The launch webcast will go live ~35 minutes ahead of liftoff which is currently targeted for 7:25am CT
I was ready to wait until Christmas for this and now I’m not emotionally prepared!
If there’s a catch attempt I’m expecting a mild success where something goes wrong (those arms sway sooo much), but I’m optimistic about Ship reentry. Going to be great.
https://x.com/SpaceX/status/1845428939285544966
Propellant load of Starship’s upper stage is now underway
Why is elon musk company allowed to advertise here?
The [email protected] community is not affiliated with SpaceX. We’re just people who like rockets :)
https://x.com/SpaceX/status/1845431347432579438
Prop load of the Super Heavy booster is underway
SpaceX hosted webcast is live. Kate Tice and Jessie Anderson are hosting.
Hype! Let’s catch this guy.
Booster and ship propellant load is complete. Range is clear.
