The upgrade is one of several for the upcoming seventh test mission, which also includes redesigns to the propulsion system and heat shield.
The company has still not formally confirmed a fresh launch date, but Elon Musk hinted last week it could occur as early as Friday, 10 January.
Starship is the collective name for the SpaceX Super Heavy booster rocket and Starship spacecraft, destined to fly humans to Mars one day.
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Testing began in April 2023 when the spacecraft failed to reach orbit but culminated in an incredible “chopstick”-style catch of its Super Heavy booster in October, effectively making it reusable.
A sixth test last month was watched by President-elect Donald Trump.
In a new statement, SpaceX unveiled a list of major upgrades to Starship that will be ready for its first test flight of 2025 and confirmed it would attempt to land the booster by the launch tower after aborting the technique for the last mission.
“Several radar sensors will be tested on the tower chopsticks with the goal of increasing the accuracy when measuring distances between the chopsticks and a returning vehicle during catch,” SpaceX said.
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“Hardware upgrades to the launch and catch tower will increase reliability for booster catch, including protections to the sensors on the tower chopsticks that were damaged at launch and resulted in the booster offshore divert on Starship’s previous flight test.
“Distinct vehicle and pad criteria must be met prior to a return and catch of the Super Heavy booster, requiring healthy systems on the booster and tower and a final manual command from the mission’s flight director.
“If this command is not sent prior to the completion of the boostback burn, or if automated health checks show unacceptable conditions with Super Heavy or the tower, the booster will default to a trajectory that takes it to a landing burn and soft splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico.
“We accept no compromises when it comes to ensuring the safety of the public and our team, and the return will only take place if conditions are right.”
In addition to improving the catch, SpaceX has installed new “latest generation tiles” on the heat shield, redesigned the avionics and increased the propellant volume by 25 per cent. It will also attempt to deploy a payload for the first time.
“While in space, Starship will deploy 10 Starlink simulators, similar in size and weight to next-generation Starlink satellites as the first exercise of a satellite deploy mission,” the launch company said.
“The Starlink simulators will be on the same suborbital trajectory as Starship, with splashdown targeted in the Indian Ocean. A relight of a single Raptor engine while in space is also planned.
“The flight test will include several experiments focused on ship return to launch site and catch.
“On Starship’s upper stage, a significant number of tiles will be removed to stress-test vulnerable areas across the vehicle.
“Multiple metallic tile options, including one with active cooling, will test alternative materials for protecting Starship during re-entry.
“On the sides of the vehicle, non-structural versions of ship catch fittings are installed to test the fittings’ thermal performance, along with a smoothed and tapered edge of the tile line to address hot spots observed during re-entry on Starship’s sixth flight test.”
Previously, Elon Musk has hinted Starship would do “one more ocean landing of the ship” before attempting to catch both the rocket booster and ship with a chopstick-style catch, making it fully reusable.
The milestone is necessary to bring down launch costs and pave the way for multiple crewed flights every year.
Meanwhile, the Federal Aviation Administration is believed to be still considering the company’s plans to blast-off the vehicle up to 25 times a year, significantly up from its current restriction of just five.
An environmental review released in November raised no concerns and stated that “all pertinent conditions and requirements of the prior approval have been met”.
Adam Thorn
Adam is a journalist who has worked for more than 40 prestigious media brands in the UK and Australia. Since 2005, his varied career has included stints as a reporter, copy editor, feature writer and editor for publications as diverse as Fleet Street newspaper The Sunday Times, fashion bible Jones, media and marketing website Mumbrella as well as lifestyle magazines such as GQ, Woman’s Weekly, Men’s Health and Loaded. He joined Momentum Media in early 2020 and currently writes for Australian Aviation and World of Aviation.
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