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SpaceX is reportedly considering a quick turnaround for its fourth Starship launch. After a very successful third launch earlier this month, SpaceX appears interested in a May launch date for the fourth iteration of Starship, according to some reports.
The news first emerged during the Satellite 2024 conference on March 19, when Gynne Shotwell, president and chief operating officer of Space, said the company was still reviewing data collected from the third Starship launch but would be ready to launch another mission. very soon (via SpaceNews).
While there was a lot to ponder about the third Starship launch, the fourth Starship launch doesn’t have the goals to accomplish that the third had. Starship’s first and second launches ended explosively, and although the third iteration burned up on re-entry, Starship’s Super Heavy booster and upper stage performed as expected throughout its ascent.
Now, all SpaceX needs to do to continue advancing Starship is make sure it can re-enter Earth’s atmosphere without burning up in the process. Shotwell said they hope to be flying again in about six weeks, which would put the next Starship ship sometime in early May, assuming there are no scheduling or weather issues.
Of course, SpaceX will need to fix the problems encountered during the third Starship launch. But if the company can outline those problems and find viable solutions, it will be ready for Starship’s fourth launch in a matter of months. That’s really exciting, as Starship has big shoes to fill based on SpaceX CEO Elon Musk’s statements that he wants future Starship rockets to take humans to other planets, most likely starting with Mars.
Starship will also play an integral role in NASA’s Artemis missions, the third of which is expected to return humans to the Moon for the first time since the Apollo missions in the 1960s and 1970s.