Spacex's Starship Flight 9 claims to solve the feed line
resonance that doomed its predecessor, Starship Flight 8,
and our reinforced methane ducts and updated TPS tiles enough to
avert another metal shower inferno.
Now, will these engineering upgrades finally achieve orbit,
or will a Raptor reignition expose an even deeper design
flaw of Starship? SpaceX has not announced a firm
date for Starship's Flight 9, but indications point to a late
April or early May 2025 target. And after the flight 8 test on
March 6th, 2025 ended prematurely, Elon Musk called it
a minor set back and stayed in. The next ship will be ready in
four to six weeks. Now, this timeline would put
Flight 9 no earlier than roughly April 20th through May 4th of
2025, assuming issues are resolved quickly.
Now, the launch window in exact time remain to be determined,
pending technical readiness and regulatory approval, of course.
And as with previous Starship tests, the launch site will be
Spacex's Star Base facility in Boca Chica, Texas, where the
Starship Super Heavy stack is integrated on the orbital
launchpad. Now, SpaceX will need a green
light from the FAA before launch, and the FAA is requiring
a mishap investigation into the Flight 8 failure.
But it did allow Flight 8 to proceed even while the Flight 7
investigation was still open. That's after reviewing Spacex's
initial fixes and barring any regulatory hold UPS, SpaceX
appears eager to attempt Flight 9 as soon as the vehicle and
licenses are ready. Now we all again speculate about
Elon Musk targeting 420 or 69AS launch dates, but officially the
schedule will depend on when engineering and FAA constraints
are resolved. The next test will use a new
Starship prototype, Ship 35, paired with Booster 16.
Now, both Ship 35 and B16 have already undergone cryogenic
proof tests as Spacex's Massey test site in Texas, indicating
they're being prepped for launch.
Now Ship 35 is a Block 2 Starship, part of an upgraded
series that debuted on Flight 7 and Block 2.
Vehicles feature numerous structural, avionics and system
improvements over earlier prototypes.
For example, they're lighter and designed for higher performance
and eventual reusability. SpaceX modified the methyl ox,
the methane and oxygen feed system on Block 2 ships, routing
methane to the Starships 3 Vacuum Raptors via 3 long,
thinner feed lines instead of a single main feed.
This change was intended to improve propellant flow, but it
may have inadvertently introduced a new issue.
Now both Block 2 ships flown so far, Ship 33 on Flight 7 and
ship 34 on Flight 8, were lost during their upper stage burn.
So SpaceX has been analyzing what went wrong.
Flight 7th, back in January 16th of 2025 saw a leak or a harmonic
resonance in the ship that caused engines to shut down,
while Flight 8, which happened in March 6th of 20 in 25,
suffered an apparent Raptor vacuum engine explosion that's
about 8 minutes into flight, which took out all three of the
ship's main engines and sent it into an uncontrollable tumble.
Investigation suggests that the methane propellant feed lines
might be vibrating at a damaging frequency as the fuel tank
empties, leading to cracks or leaks that cause engine fires in
flight 8 cameras captured a large methane leak and a fire in
Ship 34's engine Bay moments before the vehicle was
destroyed. And in short, the Block 2 design
changes while boosting performance seem to have
introduced a fuel plumbing issue that must be fixed to prevent
another mid air failure. Hey real quick I want to make a
deal with you. I would love you to hit the
subscribe button and the like button.
And This is why I continue to make Starship content for you.
It's free, takes a second. Not only will you get my
content, but you 2 will see that you've interacted with Starship
content and they're going to start promoting other Starship
content from other creators, not just me to you and your feed.
And my promise to you is that I'll continue making content
that you love. Starship content, SpaceX
content, space exploration content, futurism content, all
of that just for you. So please take a second and hit
the like and the subscribe button.
And now let's get back to some more Starship content.
SpaceX is implementing mitigations for this feed line
vibration leak problem ahead of Flight 9 and Musk characterize.
The issue is a minor one that can be solved relatively
quickly, and engineers are likely exploring solutions such
as strengthening or better supporting the methane downcomer
tubes, any vibration dampers, or also adjusting engine start
procedures. And how extensive the fix will
be is still unknown. If it's a simple tweak, SpaceX
can just retrofit Ship 35 and 36, which is almost nearly
complete with the solution now. If a major redesign is required,
however, those vehicles might even be bypassed or scrapped in
favor of redesigned Ship 37, which would imply a longer
delay. But as of now, Ship 35 is passed
3 cryo proof tests and returned to the production site for
possible modifications. Now, teams worked on Ship 36's
assembly immediately after Flight 8, indicating SpaceX is
pressing forward on multiple fronts.
Now, aside from the propellant feed fix, Flight 9 Starship will
likely incorporate incremental improvements learned from prior
flights, and for instance, Ship 35 is reported to have
reinforced catch pins or attachment points on a
structure. These are fixtures that would
eventually allow a Starship to be caught by the launch tower's
arms on descent, similar to how the Super Heavy boosters are
caught, rather than just belly flopping into the ocean.
SpaceX has already successfully caught multiple boosters with
the Mecca Zilla Tower arms, most recently Booster 15 on Flight 8,
and even adjusted the catch technique to handle kind of off
center landings. And the tower arms and
chopsticks were fine-tuned during Flight 8's booster catch,
demonstrating they can move to recenter a slightly misaligned
booster and dampen any post catch swaying.
And while Starship catches are not expected on Flight 9, SpaceX
will want at least one Starship to survive re entry intact
before attempting to grab one out of the sky.
The presence of catch hardware on Ship 35 shows SpaceX is
looking ahead to future recovery attempts.
Other minor changes being tested on recent ships include
adjustments to the heat shield, such as using fewer tiles in
certain areas, experimenting with actively cooled tiles, and
trying an ablative coating in some spots.
Now that's to improve durability and to reduce weight of the
ship. And in some, Flight 9 vehicles
should be the most advanced Starship configuration yet,
incorporating fixes from the last two failures and geared
toward achieving a fully successful mission.
Flight 9's timing is directly tied to the resolution of the
issues and the completion of the required safety reviews.
And after Flight 8's anomaly, the FAA opened a new mishap
investigation, which must be at least preliminary address before
another launch. That's a normal step, though.
The FAA had also kept the Flight 7 investigation open, but still
granted an updated license for Flight 8 once SpaceX provided
initial data in mitigation for Flight 9.
SpaceX will similarly need to demonstrate that the causes of
the previous failures are understood and corrected.
The company's aggressive four to six week turn around goal
suggests they believe only modest weeks are needed.
But if the fix takes longer than expected, like a significant
time, like a new redesign, Flight 9 could slip beyond May
2025. The gap between Flight 7 and
Flight 8 was about 49 days. A similar or slightly longer
interval after the March 6th flight puts a tentative launch
in the late April to mid-May time frame.
Internally though, SpaceX is continuing to prep hardware,
testing ship 35B16, repairs, improvements to ground systems
and etcetera. So they aren't idle while
analysis is under way. They're still building that
thing. It's worth noting that earlier
targets have already been pushed.
Prior to the recent failures, Elon had signalled a rapid
flight cadence for Starship in 2025, aiming for possibility of
launch every month or two. Kathy leaders from Starbase said
in 2024, the company hoped to conduct 25 Starship launches in
2025. This is a huge goal that would
require quick turnarounds for the team.
Now, the dual failures of 33 and 34 ships have forced a bit more
caution. Now they have to work on these
things. Flight 8 was originally rumored
to fly in February but end up launching in March after
additional checks and a brief weather delay that with two
back-to-back ship losses. SpaceX appears willing to take a
few extra weeks if needed to implement the fixes.
No official delay of Flight 9 has been announced since the
exact date isn't known yet, but effectively the schedule has
slid from the ultra optimistic scenario.
Now, the expected rescheduling will become clearer once the FAA
concurs that the new design or procedure is safe.
If the fixes work and Flight 9 succeeds, SpaceX could quickly
ramp up the pace afterwards, but until then the schedule remains
no earlier than April of 2025 and also subject to change.
Now the overall mission plan for Starship Flight 9 will be
similar to Flight 7 and 8, aiming to test the full stacks
performance and hopefully achieve the first mostly
successful end to end flight of this Starship system.
Super Heavy Booster. As before, the Super Heavy first
stage booster 16 will ignite its 33 Raptors and propel the
Starship to the edge of space in about 2 1/2 minutes.
After liftoff, the stages will separate.
The booster will then execute a flip maneuver and attempt to fly
back to Starbase for recovery. SpaceX will again use the Mecca
Zilla tower arms to catch the returning booster out of the
air, as was done in flights 5-7 and eight.
This become a routine objective for SpaceX.
Flight 8's booster, for instance, had a picture perfect
ascent, and it was successfully caught despite a couple of
engine relay hiccups. But you'd expect Flight 9's
booster to perform a similar boost back and landing profile,
demonstrating any improvements in reliability and precision.
And a successful booster catch on Flight 9 would mark the 4th
consecutive recovered Super Heavy, firmly proving that
aspect of the system. Meanwhile, Ship 35 will continue
on an orbital velocity trajectory once separated.
The exact flight profile is still being finalized and may
depend on how confident SpaceX is after implementing all of
these fixes, but the stated goal is to push the Starship further
toward orbit and safely a temporary entry on flight 7 and
8. The plan was to follow a long
ballistic arc nearly around the globe.
After stage separation, the Starship would ignite its six
engines, 3 sea Level, 3 vacuum to accelerate to near orbital
speeds, then coast and eventually perform a controlled
re entry and a splashdown. In both cases the target was a
splashdown in the ocean. Roughly 1 hour after launch,
Flight 7 targeted the Indian Ocean.
Flight 9 will likely attempt a similar path, effectively an
almost orbital test where the ship gains enough velocity to re
enter around the other side of Earth but not to remain in
orbit. If all systems are functioning
perfectly, SpaceX might even try to achieve a minimal low Earth
orbit on Flight 9, since Ship 35 is a full orbital capable
vehicle. However, the safer plan is to
retain a slight velocity shortfall so that the ship RE
enters on its own pass, ensuring it comes down in a known remote
area even if communications are lost.
SpaceX has not confirmed the exact landing zone yet publicly.
Previously, trajectories hinted at a RE entry near Hawaii or in
the Indian Ocean, but it could be adjusted.
The primary objective is to get the Starship stage through
atmospheric RE entry intact, demonstrating that the vehicle
can survive the fiery return from orbital speeds.
Both recent flights failed before this phase, so simply
having ship 35 still functional at re entry interface would be a
major milestone. And in addition to the core
flight goals, stage separation, engine restarts, thermal
protection during re entry, Flight 9 is expected to carry
and deploy some test payloads. Now, Like its predecessors, Ship
35 will likely be loaded with a batch of Starling satellite
simulators. They're mass dummies
representing Starling version 2 minis mounted at a dispenser in
its payload Bay. Flight 7 was set to carry 10
dummy star lengths, about 20 tons total, and test the
deployment mechanism in space. And Flight 8 carried four of
these simulators, possibly to reduced weight during the
troubleshooting phase. Flight 9 will probably include a
deployment demo as well, and if the vehicle stays stable after
main engine cut off, engineers would try ejecting the dummy
satellites to validate the release system and observe how
the Starship handles shifting its mass in microgravity.
Any successful deployed test payload would simply fall into
the ocean later as they're non functional.
But proving out the deployment process is key for future
missions where Starship will launch actual Starlink
satellites or other cargo. And additionally, SpaceX will be
gathering data on Starship's aerodynamics and heat shield
performance. The profile is designed to
stress the ship's flaps and thermal protection by coming in
steeply, which helps evaluate the effect of tile loss or
damage and any changes made to the heat shield design.
And in Flight 8, for example, one of the forward flaps was
found severely damaged. Post re entry for Flight 9,
engineers will watch how Ship 35's revised heat shield layout
holds up. The hope is to see the ship
maintain control through re entry performance, landing flip
maneuver and execute a final descent burn rather than coming
back to land on the pad, which is too risky at this stage.
The plan is to have the Starship in for a soft landing in water,
essentially a controlled belly flop into the ocean.
This was successfully done on flight 5 back in 2024, which is
ship 30 which gently splashed down in the Indian Ocean after
re entry. Ship 30 did not survive long
after splashdown, it exploded a few seconds after hitting the
water, but it proved the Starship could re enter and
attempt the landing burn accurately and Flight 9 will try
to repeat that feat with the more advanced ship 35.
And a successful outcome would be defined as the boosters
recovered, the Starship returns and it also reaches space and it
returns to the atmosphere on target and as much data as
possible as collected up to the moment of splashdown.
Now, even if the Starship vehicle is not recovered intact,
performing all these steps would be a huge step forward for
SpaceX. Now looking further into the
future, though, Spacex's end goal is to make Starship fully
reusable, with both stages being caught by the ground towers.
Flight 9 moves closer to that by hopefully validating the
Starship's durability and controllability.
If all goes well, Elon Musk has indicated SpaceX could attempt a
Starship catch with a tower within a few months thereafter,
possibly as soon as Flight 10 or 11.
But for now, Flight 9's mission is a critical demonstration.
It'll show whether the design tweaks have solved the issues
that caused the last two failures, and the objectives are
clear. Prove the fixes reach or almost
reach orbit, deploy test payloads, and bring the ship
back through reentry. Successfully achieving these
will pave the way for future flights, higher payload
missions, and eventually orbital refueling and moon landings as
planned under NASA's Artemis program.
Let me know in the comments down below.
And while you're down there, hit the like button.
And also, if you like Starship content, hit the subscribe
button. As you know, YouTube likes that
kind of stuff and they're going to show you more Starship
content in the future if you do all those three things, not just
for me, but from other creators as well.
So let me know what you think in the comments down below.
All right, that's it for today. Take care of yourselves and each
other and I'll see you in the next one.