WASHINGTON \u2014 SpaceX is set to conduct its next Starship test flight as the company continues to test the launch vehicle and play well with others in airspace.<\/p>\n
The Flight 11 mission of Starship is scheduled to launch from the company\u2019s Starbase test site in South Texas at 7:15 p.m. Eastern on Oct. 13. SpaceX said in a social media post Oct. 12 that there is an 80% chance of favorable weather for the launch.<\/p>\n
The mission will be another suborbital flight similar to the Flight 10 mission in August<\/a>. It will include deployments of mass simulators of next-generation Starlink satellites and a relight of a single Raptor engine while Starship is in space. SpaceX also plans to test the vehicle\u2019s thermal protection system and perform a \u201cdynamic banking maneuver\u201d before splashdown in the Indian Ocean, analogous to the maneuver the vehicle will perform on later flights when returning to Starbase.<\/p>\n The Super Heavy booster used for Flight 11 first launched on Flight 8 in March and includes 24 previously flown Raptor engines. SpaceX said it will use the booster to test different engine configurations for its return to Starbase, although the stage will intentionally splash down offshore on this flight.<\/p>\n This will be the final flight of version 2 of Starship, which suffered mission-ending malfunctions on its first three launches in January, March and May before completing its planned mission on the August flight. The more powerful version 3 of the vehicle is expected to debut as soon as the end of this year.<\/p>\n On its webpage outlining the upcoming flight, SpaceX emphasized the limited impact that the launch will have on air traffic, citing experience from Flight 10 in August.<\/p>\n \u201cSpaceX works closely with the FAA and international air traffic organizations to efficiently and safely integrate all launch and reentry operations into the airspace,\u201d the company stated. \u201cDuring Starship Flight 10, the FAA reopened all affected airspace within nine minutes, with some portions reopening within seven minutes, and there was no meaningful disruption to air traffic.\u201d<\/p>\n That focus comes as the company faces opposition to plans to perform Starship launches from Florida. Separate environmental reviews are underway for Starship operations from Kennedy Space Center\u2019s Launch Complex 39A and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station\u2019s Space Launch Complex 37, formerly used by the Delta 4.<\/p>\n A draft environmental impact statement for Starship launches from KSC, which reviews the effects of 44 launches and 88 landings per year, cited the potential for flight delays at several major Florida airports of between 40 and 120 minutes for launches and 40 to 60 minutes for landings.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is the potential that there is going to be significant impact to commercial aviation,\u201d John Tiliacos, chief operating officer of Tampa International Airport, said at a virtual public hearing Sept. 3 about the draft environmental report<\/a>. \u201cThat\u2019s something that the FAA needs to give consideration to and, frankly, come up with a plan to mitigate that.\u201d<\/p>\n