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yesterday

SpaceX to Reuse Super Heavy Booster in Ninth Starship Test Flight

FAA approval enables SpaceX to deploy hardware upgrades addressing past failures for critical reusability experiments ahead of NASA’s Artemis 3 mission.

The previous two launch tests of SpaceX's Starship ended with the upper stage erupting into fiery cascades that sent debris raining down over the Caribbean
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Starship Super Heavy launch: When and where to watch 9th test flight

Overview

  • The launch window for Starship Flight 9 opens May 27 at 7:30 PM ET from SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Texas.
  • Booster B14, previously flown on Flight 7, will make its first reuse with 29 of its original 33 Raptor engines and is slated to splash down in the Gulf of Mexico.
  • SpaceX has added preload to key upper‐stage joints, installed a new nitrogen purge system and improved propellant drains to prevent the center‐engine hardware failures seen on Flight 8.
  • The upper stage will deploy eight Starlink simulator satellites and conduct experiments to test technologies for returning the stage to the launch site.
  • NASA views this flight as a pivotal demonstration of Starship’s reusability and reliability ahead of its planned role in the Artemis 3 lunar landing.