Starship preparations indicate a possible attempt to capture the tower on Flight 5

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The Starship program is testing with a possible tower capture in mind for the system’s next flight, a goal that seems more attainable after the soft landing in the ocean of Flight 4. In addition to the booster test section – Booster 14.1 – moving to the platform of orbital launch, a second orbital launch pad is being built at Starbase, using lessons learned from the first pad.

Many signs point to a possible interception attempt on Starship’s fifth flight. Elon Musk posted on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, that he thought there should be an interception attempt on Flight 5. A new communications license from the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has language which means there will be either a soft landing in the ocean as in the last flight or a capture attempt at the orbital launch site.

The most significant sign of SpaceX’s near-term flight test intentions has been the appearance of a new test item known as Booster 14.1. The B14.1 is a small simulated methane tank, including a forward booster pod, a regular pod, and a section with four methane tanks.

The clipped booster was installed on the orbital launch pad with a crane after completing tests with the new police hatch and lift points at Masseys former weapons area, now a test site for the Starbase.

There were three upcoming road closures listed for Starbase: Tuesday, June 25 from 12:00 PM to 8:00 PM CDT (5:00 PM to 1:00 AM UTC, June 25/26), Wednesday, June 26 from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. CDT (1:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. UTC June 26/27 and Thursday, June 27 at the same times as June 26 closing.

However, SpaceX has since revoked the June 25 and 27 shutdowns and used the June 26 one for testing.

HA! And now we know why they use a test tank for these tests. #ANNOUNCEhttps://t.co/fkcXWYv7Vv pic.twitter.com/EPalY02JGm

— Chris Bergin – NSF (@NASASpaceflight) June 26, 2024

The shutdown on June 26 was used to test B14.1, and SpaceX has an intermittent shutdown for June 27 from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. for more testing. However, contrary to what was previously thought, SpaceX did not take the shortened test booster, nor was it filled with either propellant or water.

Instead, SpaceX pressurized the test tank and the north wing quickly closed and hit the tank. SpaceX is testing this since during actual capture operations, the wings would have to close and engage the booster in order to insert the landing rails under the lift-off points.

While B14.1 is prepared for tests with the “stick” wings, likely as part of testing the system’s response before any capture attempt, other activities at Starbase are preparing the site for a busy and active future of launches, at least when there are no storms in the area.

Now SpaceX also had temporary shutdowns that are from 10:00 p.m. June 26 to 2:00 p.m. CDT June 27 (03:00 to 07:00 UTC June 27), with the same times for June 27/28 and June 28/29. These were deployed to transport the final sections of the tower from the Port of Brownsville to the Sanchez site, however the barge carrying the tower will not enter the port until June 28. It is highly unlikely that any of these closures will be used.

Weather conditions in the area became bad enough on June 20 that work on the facility was forced to stop. Winds prevented safe work up the tower, while Highway 4 was flooded by heavy rain. The weather also forced a barge with launch tower elements to stop in Tampa on its trip from Port Canaveral to Brownsville.

A second orbital launch pad is being built at the site of the former suborbital launch pads, and a support foundation for the second tower has been prepared. The huge concrete pillars are now visible and the final sections of the tower and the “Mechazilla” pieces are now back in transit from Florida through the Gulf of Mexico. The pylons look different from those holding up the first orbital launch assembly, and the new tower and launch assembly plans will no doubt be informed by experience with the first orbital launch site at Starbase.

The orbital tank farm, which will support both launch platforms, received a new long horizontal tank this week to add capacity and is currently being installed. While the tank farm is being upgraded, the old vertical tanks built much earlier in the program are now being dismantled.

By now all the cryogenic shells that were in the old vertical tanks have been removed. The old tank farm, with tanks built similarly to the Starship test vessels, will be removed to make way for additional infrastructure related to the current or new launch pad.

In addition to the launch infrastructure, the program has done a lot of work on buildings like a new parking garage and an office building. The parking garage is nearly complete, and a sign that it is operational will be if there is reduced traffic parking on the side of Highway 4. Meanwhile, a new office building has gained additional levels.

As for when Flight 5 will fly, the entire heat shield, made up of over 18,000 plates, is being replaced to play a role when the flight is ready. The old plates are being replaced with newer, stronger plates, as well as an ablative thermal shield underneath these plates for further thermal protection.

Starship can now fly missions that have very similar profiles to Flight 4 with the existing FAA license, but a license modification is needed for each capture attempt. If Flight 5 does indeed proceed with a tower capture attempt for Booster 12, additional documents will need to be submitted for this license modification.

Inspections and work are being done on the launch pad and orbital assembly to prepare for Flight 5 as well. Elon Musk has indicated the end of July as the target for this mission’s flight, but it is most likely August or even in the beginning of September. No matter when you fly, it will be another case of “guaranteed excitement” especially if you try to grab the tower.

(Main image: Booster 14.1 in Orbital launch pad assembly. Credit: BocaChicaGal for NSF/L2)