SpaceX prepares for next Starship flights, but pushes fourth launch to June

It all started on May 8th with a static fire test of Ship 30, which successfully launched all six of its Raptors. This ship will fly after Ship 29 and will be paired with Booster 12, which already underwent tank leak testing in January. On May 10, Ship 30 returned to the construction site, clearing the suborbital pad, which workers immediately began dismantling. Starship engine launch tests will no longer be carried out near the launch pad, but at the site in Massey. Ship 26, a prototype without wings and a heat shield, which will be used for the first time on the new static fire test stand, was also transported here on May 8. This stand is very different from those used so far for Starship, since for the first time a “trench” was dug for it to better control the exhaust gases. Ship 26 will be the first to test all engine testing equipment. Ship 31 also arrived at Massey on May 11 to test its tanks with liquid nitrogen, which will be used for Starship’s sixth flight. Also on May 11, SpaceX installed RN-11 on the launch pad for the second time. She had been on site since April 8, after all 33 Raptor engines were fired three days earlier.