SpaceX moved the Flight 7 Starship upper stage (Ship 33) to the Starbase launch site yesterday to conduct pre-flight tests.
Elon Musk’s commercial spaceflight company shared the update via his social media platform X. “Starship ready for testing ahead of Flight 7,” SpaceX announced.
SpaceX moved Ship 33 to the launch site after completing a successful static fire test on the Flight 7 Super Heavy rocket booster (Booster 14) on Monday. SpaceX also shared some stunning images of the majestic Starship spacecraft with the Flight 7 status update.
Next milestone: SpaceX conducts a static fire test on Flight 7 Starship (Ship 33)
Interestingly, before transporting Flight 7 Ship 33 to the launch site, SpaceX removed Booster 14 from the orbital launch mount (OLM) Pad A and rolled it back to the High Bay resting and repairs area.
This suggest that right now, SpaceX does not aim to fully integrate Flight 7 Starship soon (fully integrated = mounting the upper stage Starship spacecraft on a Super Heavy rocket booster while it’s placed on the OLM).
SpaceX not only lifted Booster 14 from the OLM while removing it from the launch pad, but also held it high at the landing-catch position for a while before placing it on the transport stand.
Although SpaceX announced upcoming pre-flight tests (cryo proof, propellant load, static fire, etc.), Flight 7 Starship 33 hasn’t been observed performing any of these as of this writing.
SpaceX already conducted three cryogenic pressure-proof tests on Ship 33 in October. The major milestones will be a static fire test and mounting it on Booster 14 before the fight. It’s worth noting that Flight 7 Ship 33 is the first V2 prototype, so the IFT-7 launch will be unique and more interesting from this angle as well.
SpaceX eyes NET January 11 for the Flight 7 Starship launch and landing test (IFT-7). The test can get late if the FAA licensing process becomes a hurdle.
According to an email sent to the FAA by NASA, SpaceX has an initial target date of 11 January 2025 for the Flight 7 mission. NASA will be imaging the re-entry and observing the peak heating events of the Flight 7 Starship upper stage using a Gulfstream jet in the Indian Ocean (from Perth, Australia). This data will help NASA and SpaceX with future mission improvements.
SpaceX has not yet released the Flight 7 trajectory. But from NASA’s email, it’s imminent that the upper stage Ship 33 will be landing in the Indian Ocean. It’s unclear if SpaceX will attempt a landing-catch of the Flight 7 Super Heavy booster like Flight 5.
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 preparations at Starbase as it moves Ship 33 to the launch site and rolls back Booster 14 (pics, video, details).){kind=link}