SpaceX Starship Will Fly Again in 3-5 Weeks, Elon Musk Predicts

Musk’s timeline would place Starship’s fourth orbital test flight sometime in June, but SpaceX will need to wait for the FAA to wrap up its investigation.

Jack Daleo

Monday, May 13, 2024 at 05:09 PM ET

Verified

SpaceX over the weekend shared images of the company’s Super Heavy booster returning to the Starbase launchpad in Boca Chica, Texas, on social media platform X. [Courtesy: SpaceX]

Key Takeaways:

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk predicts Starship's fourth test flight (IFT-4) will occur in June, despite the rocket being grounded since March for an FAA mishap investigation.
The prediction is supported by the Starship being moved back to the launchpad and the decreasing length of previous FAA investigations, making a June launch plausible.
A key objective for IFT-4 is for Starship to successfully survive atmospheric reentry, a crucial step for the fully reusable design after this failed in the previous test.

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SpaceX’s Starship, the largest and most powerful rocket ever constructed, will fly again in June, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk predicted over the weekend.

The company’s massive rocket and Super Heavy booster, which when stacked together stand nearly 400 feet tall, have been grounded since March as the FAA conducts a mishap investigation into Starship’s third uncrewed orbital test flight.