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SpaceX achieves successful Starship launch with Trump and Musk observing
SpaceX aimed to replicate the catching maneuver using mechanical arms, successfully performed in October.
Following two delays, SpaceX’s seventh test flight is now set for Wednesday, January 15.
The Starship flight, marking the first of 2025, was initially planned for Monday afternoon. After a short holdup, the upcoming year is expected to be crucial for Starship, the colossal spacecraft operated and constructed by Elon Musk‘s SpaceX.
What time is the SpaceX launch today, and how can you observe it? Here’s what we’ve gathered.
What is the timing of the SpaceX launch today? Check the Starship seventh test flight schedule
The schedule for Wednesday’s countdown to launch and the test flight remains unchanged, as confirmed by the aerospace company. All timings correspond to moments leading up to or after the 4 p.m. launch.
Countdown
| Hour/Minute/Second | Event |
| 01:15:00 | SpaceX Flight Director conducts poll and verifies GO for propellant load |
| 00:44:59 | Ship LOX (liquid oxygen) load underway |
| 00:42:20 | Ship fuel (liquid methane) load underway |
| 00:41:24 | Booster fuel load underway |
| 00:35:28 | Booster LOX load underway |
| 00:19:40 | Raptor initiates engine chill on booster and ship |
| 00:03:20 | Ship propellant load complete |
| 00:02:50 | Booster propellant load complete |
| 00:00:30 | SpaceX Flight Director confirms GO for launch |
| 00:00:10 | Activation of flame deflector |
| 00:00:03 | Raptor ignition sequence commences |
| 00:00:00 | Anticipation guaranteed |
Flight test timeline
| Hour/Minute/Second | Event |
| 00:00:02 | Liftoff |
| 00:01:02 | Max Q (moment of maximum aerodynamic stress on the rocket) |
| 00:02:32 | Super Heavy MECO (major engine cutoff) |
| 00:02:40 | Hot-staging (Starship Raptor ignition and stage separation) |
| 00:02:46 | Initiation of Super Heavy boostback burn |
| 00:03:29 | Super Heavy boostback burn terminated |
| 00:03:31 | Hot-stage separation |
| 00:06:26 | Super Heavy reaches transonic |
| 00:06:35 | Commencement of Super Heavy landing burn |
| 00:06:55 | Super Heavy landing burn concludes with catch |
| 00:08:53 | Starship engine shutdown |
| 00:17:33 | Payload deployment demonstration |
| 00:37:33 | Raptor in-space relight demonstration |
| 00:47:14 | Starship re-entry |
| 01:03:12 | Starship reaches transonic |
| 01:04:25 | Starship attains subsonic |
| 01:06:13 | Landing maneuver |
| 01:06:19 | Execution of landing burn |
| 01:06:39 | A thrilling landing! |
How to view the SpaceX launch in Texas
SpaceX will provide a livestream for the flight test commencing approximately 35 minutes prior to liftoff.
The webcast can be accessed on its official website and on the social media platform X. Additionally, coverage will also be offered on SpaceX’s new X TV application.
“As with all experimental testing, the timeline is fluid and may change, so make sure to check back here and follow our X account for updates,” stated SpaceX.
What caused SpaceX to postpone the Starship launch?
SpaceX revealed the revised launch date on X Saturday evening, a day following the flight rehearsal evaluation. This format of rehearsal is referred to as a “wet dress rehearsal,” which AutoEvolution explains as “replicating nearly all procedures of a launch, excluding the actual ignition.”
Although the precise causes of the postponement have not been established, it is possible that weather conditions influenced the choice. SpaceX’s Starbase, situated in Boca Chica near Brownsville, has experienced rainy and windy weather to commence the week.
The delay might also relate to an issue revealed during Friday’s wet dress rehearsal, after which the Starship was removed from its stack.
SpaceX to attempt booster retrieval and Starlink satellite deployment test
The Starship vehicle being transported to the launch site is a modernized and enhanced spacecraft featuring updates to its upper stage, alongside redesigns of its propulsion system and heat shield, according to SpaceX.
“All contribute to improved vehicle performance and the capability for extended missions,” SpaceX mentioned.
During the seventh flight test, mission operators intend to have Starship attempt to deploy for the first time 10 Starlink simulators, which are comparable in size and weight to upcoming Starlink satellites. The Starlink simulators will follow the same suborbital path as Starship, with splashdown aimed for the Indian Ocean.
SpaceX aims to once more attempt to recover the rocket booster and capture it at the launch pad, which would create sonic booms in the vicinity of the landing area. This operation, successfully performed only once during the demonstration in October, was aborted in the latest test conducted in November, which was attended by President-elect Donald Trump.
In this instance, the catch tower has been upgraded with new equipment designed to enhance the feasibility of a booster catch. This includes shielding for the sensors on the tower’s mechanical arms, dubbed chopsticks, which SpaceX reported were harmed during the November 19 launch, leading mission controllers to redirect the booster for a landing in the Gulf of Mexico.
The Super Heavy rocket booster will be equipped with a Raptor engine from the booster that launched and returned during Starship’s fifth flight test in October — marking the initial reuse of flight-qualified hardware, as noted by SpaceX. The company also intends to reignite its Raptor engines in space once more to try an orbital burn — a vital maneuver for bringing a vehicle back to earth in the future.
— USA TODAY contributed to this information.
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