SpaceX reschedules Flight 6 launch date, fully stacks Starship at Starbase, more

-

-Advertisement-

In a new development, SpaceX has changed the target date for the Starship Flight 6 launch and landing-catch test.

Previously, SpaceX targeted Monday 18th November for the Flight 6 test (IFT-6). For various reasons, the spaceflight company has now rescheduled Flight 6 launch target date to Tuesday 19th November.

SpaceX will now attempt to perform the Starship Flight 6 orbital flight and landing-catch test on Tuesday 19th November. Elon Musk’s SpaceX announced the new date via his social media platform X and on the company’s official website.

“The sixth flight test of Starship is targeted to launch Tuesday, November 19. The 30-minute launch window will open at 4:00 p.m. CT,” SpaceX wrote in the press release.

Related: Watch the live-stream recordings of Starship Flight 6 launch and landing test | The reason for Flight 6 Super Heavy catch abort

– Advertisement –
SpaceX stacks Flight 6 Starship for the launch test targeting Tuesday November 19, 2024.
Mechazilla Chopsticks lifted Ship 31 to mount it on Booster 13 for stacking the Flight 6 Starship for the launch test targeting Tuesday, November 19, 2024 (the full moon brightens up the sky and launch site, seen behind the handing Starship upper stage). Credit: SpaceX via X (Twitter).

With the announcement of the new Starship IFT-6 date, SpaceX also posted some amazing photos of the Flight 6 Starship.

These latest photos show both major components of the Flight 6 Starship getting integrated for the orbital flight and landing test on Tuesday. The lower 1st-stage Super Heavy Booster 13 (B13) is mounted on the OLM and the launch tower Chopsticks lifted the upper 2nd-stage Ship 31 to mount it on the booster.

When the upper stage spacecraft is mounted on the booster, a Starship is called ‘fully integrated’. And when the fully integrated Starship is launched, it’s called an IFT (integrated flight test). Therefore, the upcoming Starship test is named IFT-6 (the sixt integrated flight test of \ Starship prototypes Ship 31 and Booster 13).

– Advertisement –

We chalked-out the Starship IFT-6 trajectory for both the 1st and 2nd stage vehicles in one of our previous Flight 6 reports.

SpaceX added the following more interesting information in the latest Flight 6 press release to explain the goals, actions, and types of data they want to gather from the upcoming test on Tuesday next week.

Several thermal protection experiments and operational changes will test the limits of Starship’s capabilities and generate flight data to inform plans for ship catch and reuse.

The flight test will assess new secondary thermal protection materials and will have entire sections of heat shield tiles removed on either side of the ship in locations being studied for catch-enabling hardware on future vehicles.

The ship also will intentionally fly at a higher angle of attack in the final phase of descent, purposefully stressing the limits of flap control to gain data on future landing profiles.

Finally, adjusting the flight’s launch window to the late afternoon at Starbase will enable the ship to reenter over the Indian Ocean in daylight, providing better conditions for visual observations.

– Advertisement –
Fully integrated Flight 6 Starship mounted on the OLM at Starbase, Boca Chica, Texas as of 15th November 2024.
Fully integrated Flight 6 Starship mounted on the OLM at Starbase, Boca Chica, Texas as of 15th November 2024. Credit: SpaceX / X (Twitter).

Stay tuned for constant Tesla updates, follow us on: 
Google News | Flipboard | X (Twitter) | WhatsApp Channel | RSS (Feedly).

Related SpaceX / Starship News

Iqtidar Ali
Iqtidar Alihttp://www.teslaoracle.com
Author of more than 1500 articles on Tesla, SpaceX, and EVs. His work has been liked and tweeted by Elon Musk and other prominent influencers. You can reach him on Twitter @IqtidarAlii

Latest News

Tesla shares video & details of the first fully autonomous Model Y delivery to the customer using Robotaxi FSD

Tesla (TSLA) has shared a video of the first Model Y autonomously delivering itself to its owner. The delivery...

First Tesla Model Y delivers itself from Giga Texas to a customer in Austin — max speed: 72 mph

Tesla (TSLA) has achieved a historical milestone as it delivered the first-ever car in automotive history that drove itself...

Tesla FSD Cortex AI supercluster is running at full capacity, confirms Elon Musk

Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk has confirmed that the Cortex supercluster is running at full capacity as the demand...

Tesla (TSLA) introducess Robotaxi rides for $4.20 flat in Austin, market reacts positively

Tesla (TSLA) Robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, is still in beta mode. However, some interesting things have happened since...
- Advertisement -

Flight 10 Starship explodes during testing at Starbase, Texas, resulting in a launch delay (video)

Starbase, Texas — last night (18th June, around 11:00 PM CT), Flight 10 Starship upper stage aka Ship 36...

SpaceX prepares for Starship’s 10th flight, conducts a static fire test on Booster 16, Starbase updates

After the unfortunate events of Starship's 9th launch and landing test, SpaceX is gearing up for its next flight...

Trump to cancel SpaceX contracts, Musk retracts from decommissioning the Dragon spacecraft program

Tesla & SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and US President Donald Trump's romance has taken a historic and unanticipated turn....

Tesla Tips & Tricks

Tesla phone app lets owners remotely melt snow off their cars (video)

Tesla cars have some super-nice climate features that other...

Tesla offers access to its Model S, 3, X, Y service manuals subscription free for 1 year

Tesla has allowed its customers to subscribe to the...

Defrost Mode lets you remotely melt snow from your Tesla in just minutes (videos & how to guide)

Tesla (TSLA) electric cars are unique in many ways...

Tesla Quarterly Reports & Eearnings

Tesla (TSLA) surges after Q1 2025 Earnings Call, Musk’s time at DOGE to drop significantly soon

Surprisingly, after reporting negative Q1 2025 automotive and overall...

What to expect from Tesla (TSLA) Q1 2025 Earnings Call with Elon Musk

Today's Tesla (TSLA) Q1 2025 Earnings Call is probably...

Tesla (TSLA) announces time and date of the Q1 2025 Earnings Call

Elon Musk's electric vehicle and energy storage company Tesla...
- Advertisement -

You might also likeRELATED
Recommended for You