{"id":24049,"date":"2024-04-20T01:55:49","date_gmt":"2024-04-19T17:55:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/as-ift-4-prepares-for-launch-starships-future-is-coming-into-focus\/"},"modified":"2024-04-20T01:55:49","modified_gmt":"2024-04-19T17:55:49","slug":"as-ift-4-prepares-for-launch-starships-future-is-coming-into-focus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/as-ift-4-prepares-for-launch-starships-future-is-coming-into-focus\/","title":{"rendered":"As IFT-4 prepares for launch, Starship\u2019s future is coming into focus"},"content":{"rendered":"

After the historic IFT-3 launch in March, the Starship program is proceeding with plans to fly Ship 29 and Booster 11 on IFT-4, potentially in May, while future versions of the vehicle are starting to take shape.<\/p>\n

STARSHIP FLIGHT 4 PREPARATIONS<\/p>\n

Following the successful static test firing campaigns of the ship and booster, both vehicles are in the Starbase production area being worked on to prepare for the upcoming fourth flight of Starship itself.<\/p>\n

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Ship 29\u2019s static test firing at Starbase suborbital pad B on March 25, 2024. (Credit: BocaChicaGal for NSF\/L2)<\/p>\n

Ship 29 fired all six engines for a few seconds during a static fire test at the suborbital launch pad B on March 25, to test the ship\u2019s systems and engines for flightworthiness.<\/p>\n

This test was followed two days later by a single-engine Raptor firing from Ship 29\u2019s header tanks, possibly to test the process for firing an engine in space during IFT-4. Once this firing was done, Ship 29 returned to the Starbase production site on March 29 for its flight preparations.<\/p>\n

Booster 11 was rolled out to the orbital launch pad on April 3 and lifted up onto the orbital launch mount (OLM) overnight. After Booster 11 successfully conducted a 33 engine static test firing on April 5 it was rolled back to the production site two days later. Both vehicles are currently being prepared for flight, but some work remains before they can come back out to the launch pad.<\/p>\n

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Booster 11 conducted a successful 33 engine static fire test on April 5, 2024. (Credit: BocaChicaGal for NSF\/L2)<\/p>\n

The hot staging ring for Booster 11 is still not installed on the vehicle as of the time of writing, and Ship 29 has had many of its tiles stripped off after it was rolled back. Some areas of the ship have been seen with adhesive patches, as these areas require the tiles to be glued on.<\/p>\n

Other areas of the ship can have tiles mechanically attached. As of mid-April sizable areas of Ship 29 were still devoid of tiles. However, new nose tiles have been added, and work is proceeding for a rollout in a matter of weeks.<\/p>\n

The main goal of IFT-4, as stated by Elon Musk in a post on the social media app X (formerly Twitter), was to have Ship 29 reenter the atmosphere and to have all of its systems working past the point of maximum heating. SpaceX wants to give Ship 29 its best chance of reentering the atmosphere intact, and additional work on the heat shield is being done to that end. <\/p>\n

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A section of Ship 29 with visible adhesive, awaiting tile replacement. (Credit: BocaChicaGal for NSF\/L2)<\/p>\n

IFT-4 is planned as a near-copy of IFT-3\u2019s flight, with a similar flight path and reentry over the Indian Ocean. One important goal of IFT-3 that was not achieved was an in-space restart of a Raptor engine, so that is something to watch for on this flight. Another item to watch is how well the booster\u2019s return to a point in the Gulf of Mexico near the launch site goes. On IFT-3, Booster 10 made it most of the way down before facing control issues during the final moments of the flight.<\/p>\n

During the Super Heavy booster\u2019s return to Earth, 13 engines initially fire to slow the vehicle down. Only three engines will be firing during the final descent and landing. For IFT-4, Booster 11 is planned to conduct a return to a \u201cvirtual tower\u201d in the Gulf of Mexico, testing the entire procedure of flying within reach of the launch tower and its \u201cchopstick\u201d arms without risking the actual tower or launch infrastructure at Starbase. If this test works well enough, it is possible an actual catch attempt will be made at the Starbase orbital launch tower during the fifth test flight of Starship sometime this summer.<\/p>\n

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The Mechazilla \u201cchopstick\u201d arms during a recent upgrade to prepare for booster catch attempts. (Credit: Sean Doherty for NSF\/L2)<\/p>\n

Another aspect of IFT-4 preparations is underway at the orbital launch tower and OLM. Work is underway to prepare the OLM, launch tower, and the Mechazilla \u201cchopstick\u201d arms for IFT-4 and flights beyond. Mechazilla in particular has had much work done to it, including to its hydraulic actuator, which was replaced with an upgraded actuator very recently.<\/p>\n

This upgrade presumably is to prepare the \u201cchopstick\u201d arms to catch the booster by enabling them to close more quickly during booster catches.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n