Starship flight test 5

This article is about the fifth integrated Starship/Super Heavy flight test. For the 2020 fifth flight test of the Starship segment, see List of Starship upper stage flight tests.

Starship flight test 5

Booster 12 on final approach to the launch tower
Mission type	Suborbital flight test
Operator	SpaceX
Mission duration	1 hour, 5 minutes, 40 seconds
Apogee	212 km (132 mi)
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft	Starship Ship 30
Spacecraft type	Starship
Manufacturer	SpaceX
Start of mission
Launch date	13 October 2024, 12:25:00 (2024-10-13UTC12:25Z) UTC (7:25 am CDT)
Rocket	Super Heavy (B12)
Launch site	Starbase, OLP-A
End of mission
Landing date	Super Heavy: 13 October 2024, 12:31:56 UTC (7:31:56 am CDT) Ship: 13 October 2024, 13:30:40 (13 October 2024, 13:30:40) UTC
Landing site	Super Heavy: Starbase, OLP-A Ship: Indian Ocean
Mission patch SpaceX Starship flight tests

Starship flight test 5 was the fifth flight test of a SpaceX Starship launch vehicle. The prototype vehicles flown were the Starship Ship 30 upper-stage and Super Heavy Booster 12. This launch is notable for being the first time an orbital-class rocket has been caught out of mid air.

After launching and delivering the Starship upper stage into a suborbital trajectory heading toward a splashdown in the Indian Ocean, the Super Heavy booster turned around and fired its Raptor engines to return back to the launch site. As the booster approached the launch pad it slowed to a near hover and did a horizontal slide maneuver to line itself up with two massive "chopstick" arms on the launch tower, dubbed "Mechazilla." The arms then closed around the booster before the engines shut down.

The rocket launched on the morning of 13 October, one day after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a launch permit that had been delayed since early August and after weeks of increasingly public feuding between SpaceX and the FAA.

Development prior to launch

Technical development

During a company all-hands in April 2024, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk expanded briefly on the goals of flight test 5, stating that the first tower landing could occur, depending on B11's virtual landing performance during the fourth flight test. In June, Musk stated the heatshield tiles on the flight 5 vehicle will be twice as strong along with a new ablative protection layer underneath. The process of removing the old Thermal Protection System began on 11 June. Multiple tests occurred with the hydraulic arms on the launch tower in preparation for the booster catch.

Vehicle testing ahead of launch

Design revisions on Ship 30 include a new vent on the liquid methane tank and another vent with a new valve design on the liquid oxygen (LOX) tank. Two arrays of small radio antennas were redesigned and relocated near the payload bay instead of the ship's nosecone, with one array concealed beneath the ship's heat shield.

Static fire testing of Ship 30 occurred in early May in preparation for flight 5. This was the last static fire conducted at the now-demolished Suborbital Pad B, as future tests will use the static fire stand at Massey's Test Site. Booster 12 moved to the launch pad on 9 July. The booster performed a spin prime test on 12 July; it was the first time a spin prime test was performed since Booster 9 in August 2023. A static fire of Booster 12 was completed on 15 July and Ship 30 static fire was conducted on 26 July. On 21 September, S30 was stacked onto B12, with SpaceX claiming that this stack was for Flight 5, "pending regulatory approval".

FAA dispute and environmental concerns

On 12 June, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said that no mishap investigation would be required prior to the launch of flight 5. In anticipation of the fifth flight, SpaceX applied for a communications license from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), with a start date of 19 July. In early August, SpaceX claimed that both stages were ready to fly for flight test 5.

In September, SpaceX communicated that the FAA had shifted their license approval timeframe from later that month to November, and wrote about issues with the FAA's licensing processes for Starship flight tests. SpaceX claimed that government paperwork prevented it from flying Starship quickly to meet commitments to the Artemis program. In a statement to journalists, the FAA reiterated that the license authorizing Starship test flight 4 also allowed for multiple flights of the same vehicle configuration and mission profile. However, because SpaceX chose to modify both in an attempt to "catch" the Super Heavy booster through a return-to-launch-site maneuver, it triggered a more in-depth review because of the changed impact location of the hot stage ring and the sonic boom that would be generated. The delay was described as being 60 days because of the required consultation with the US Fish & Wildlife Service for the sonic boom effects and also 60 days of consultation with the National Marine Fisheries Service for the impact on ocean wildlife. This was repeated by the FAA on 2 October. Despite this, the FAA issued a license for the launch on 12 October, without offering any explanation as to what prompted the change.

Mission summary

Starship during IFT-5

Starship booster landing approach

The mission profile for flight test 5 differed from the previous flight. While Ship 30 splashed down in the Indian Ocean, as Ship 29 did, B12 shut off its engines thirteen seconds earlier and returned to the launch site for a catch.

After launching and delivering the Starship upper stage to an altitude of 69 kilometers (43 mi) on a trajectory heading toward space, the Super Heavy booster flipped around and fired its Raptor engines to return back to the launch site. As the booster approached the launch pad the launch mount reactivated its water deluge system to prevent destruction. The booster slowed to a near hover and did a horizontal slide maneuver to line itself up with two massive "chopstick" arms on the launch tower, dubbed "Mechazilla." The arms then closed around the booster before the engines shut down.

The upper stage Starship spacecraft reached an apogee of 212 km (132 mi) before a controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean. Video showed minor damage to the control flaps during re-entry, but despite this, it splashed down with high accuracy in the water near a pre-positioned buoy that captured footage of the splashdown . Ship 30, which was never intended to be recovered, erupted in a large fireball about 16 seconds after it hit the water.

Flight timeline

Time	Event	13 October 2024
−01:15:00	Flight Director conducts a poll and verifies go for propellant loading	Success
−00:49:50	Starship fuel (liquid methane) load start	Success
−00:48:40	Starship oxidizer (liquid oxygen) load start	Success
−00:40:40	Super Heavy fuel (liquid methane) load start	Success
−00:34:03	Super Heavy oxidizer (liquid oxygen) load start	Success
−00:19:40	Super Heavy and Starship engine chill	Success
−00:03:20	Starship propellant load complete	Success
−00:02:50	Super Heavy propellant load complete	Success
−00:00:30	SpaceX flight director verifies GO for launch	Success
−00:00:10	Flame deflector activation	Success
−00:00:03	Super Heavy engine ignition	Success
+00:00:02	Liftoff	Success
+00:01:02	Max q during ascent (moment of peak mechanical stress on the rocket)	Success
+00:02:35	Super Heavy most engines cutoff (MECO)	Success
+00:02:40	Starship engine ignition and stage separation (hot-staging)	Success
+00:02:45	Super Heavy boostback burn start	Success
+00:03:41	Super Heavy boostback burn shutdown	Success
+00:03:43	Hot-stage jettison	Success
+00:06:08	Super Heavy is supersonic	Success
+00:06:30	Super Heavy landing burn start	Success
+00:06:54	Super Heavy landing burn shutdown and catch	Success
+00:08:27	Starship engine cutoff (SECO)	Success
+00:48:03	Starship entry	Success
+01:00:50	Estimated time of max q during Starship's descent	Success
+01:02:34	Starship is transonic	Success
+01:03:43	Starship is subsonic	Success
+01:05:15	Starship landing flip	Success
+01:05:20	Starship landing burn	Success
+01:05:40	Starship splashdown	Success

Reactions

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson praised the flight stating "Congratulations to SpaceX on its successful booster catch and fifth Starship flight test today!". Former Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield hailed the flight, declaring that "there was an enormous step forward in human capability today."

Fellow aerospace manufacturers also congratulated SpaceX including Blue Origin, Stoke Space, and Rocket Factory Augsburg which congratulated SpaceX for its "incredible feat of engineering", before noting that at its current pace, the European space industry has "no chance" of catching up to SpaceX. André Loesekrug-Pietri, president of the Joint European Disruptive Initiative, made a similar statement, calling it "a huge slap in the face to the Europeans, who are leaving history".