SpaceX Starship V sequence of events (IFT-5)
SpaceX Starship V sequence of events (IFT-5).
IFT-5 Starship progress
IFT-5 Previous Starship missions
- SpaceX Starship I sequence of events (IFT-1) (20-04-2023).
- SpaceX Starship II sequence of events (IFT-2) (18-11-2023).
- SpaceX Starship III sequence of events (IFT-3) (14-03-2024).
- SpaceX Starship IV sequence of events (IFT-4) (06-06-2024).
- SpaceX Starship V sequence of events (IFT-5) (13-10-2024).
All SpaceX missions
SpaceX Live streams
- SpaceX website (new tab).
- SpaceX on X (@SpaceX) (new tab).
IFT-5 Mission
13-10-2024 Starship’s fifth flight test could launch pending regulatory approval.
13:30 CEST Start webcast (30 minutes before liftoff).
14:00 CEST Opening launch window (7:00 a.m. CT).
IFT-5 Scheduled
- 09-07-2024 Rollout Booster 13 to launch pad at BC.
- 17-07-2024 See SpaceX Starship progress
- 23-09-2024 B12 and S30 stack performed a prop test load.
- 00-10-2024 Launch.
IFT-5 Upgrades
- 15-07-2024 B12 Upgrades:
- New flight termination system box designed to enable a quick destruction of the rocket in case an anomaly happens.
- Four Starlink antenna fittings present.
- New “Remove before flight” covers for the Raptor boost quick disconnects (QDC).
- 13-10-2024 Extensive upgrades ahead of this flight test have been made to hardware and software across the booster , Starship, and the launch and catch tower infrastructure at Starbase.
- See also SpaceX Starship progress.
- See also SpaceX Starship all missions.
IFT-5 Flight objectives
- Primary objectives:
- Return to launch site and catch of the booster.
- Starship reentry and landing burn, aiming for an on-target splashdown in the Indian Ocean.
IFT-5 Infrastructure objectives
- New infrastructure to maximize the chances for success. No compromises when it comes to ensuring the safety of the public and our team, and the return will only be attempted if conditions are right.
IFT-5 Configuration
- Super Heavy 12, Booster 12 (B12).
- Starship SN30 (S30). No Rator 3 used.
IFT-5 Launch location
IFT-5 Weather
- See: Starbase Boca Chica.
IFT-5 Launch windows
- Launch location: Boca Chica.
- Launch windows opent at 13-10-2024 at 14:00 CEST.
- Duration: 1 hour.
IFT-5 Launch window 1 details. Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) USA from 13-10-2024 6.45 am until 8.07 am CT.
| Timezone | Go for propellant load (75 mins to Open) | Coverage (30 mins to Open) | Window Open | Window Closed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
CDT = CST (CT) | 5.45 am | 6.30 am | 7.00 am | 8.00 am |
EDT = EST | 6.45 am | 7.30 am | 8.00 am | 9.00 am |
| UTC = GMT (Zulu) | 10:45 | 11:30 | 12:00 | 13:00 |
CET (winter, UTC+1) CEST (summer, UTC+2) | 11:45 12:45 | 12:30 13:30 | 13:00 14:00 | 14:00 15:00 |
IFT-5 Booster catch attempt
- Thousands of distinct vehicle and pad criteria must be met prior to a return and catch attempt of the booster, which will require healthy systems on the booster and tower and a manual command from the mission’s Flight Director (FD). If this command is not sent prior to the completion of the boostback burn, or if automated health checks show unacceptable conditions with the booster 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.
- The returning booster will slow down from supersonic speeds, resulting in audible sonic booms in the area around the landing zone. Generally, the only impact to those in the surrounding area of a sonic boom is the brief thunder-like noise with variables like weather and distance from the return site determining the magnitude experienced by observers.
IFT-5 Starship heatshield
- One of the key upgrades on Starship ahead of flight was a complete rework of its heatshield, with SpaceX technicians spending more than 12,000 hours replacing the entire thermal protection system with newer-generation tiles, a backup ablative layer, and additional protections between the flap structures. This massive effort, along with updates to the ship’s operations and software for reentry and landing burn, will look to improve upon the previous flight and bring Starship to a soft splashdown at the target area in the Indian Ocean.
IFT-5 Starship landing
- Starship will fly a similar trajectory as the previous flight test with splashdown targeted in the Indian Ocean. This flight path does not require a deorbit burn for reentry, maximizing public safety while still providing the opportunity to meet our primary objective of a controlled reentry and soft water landing of Starship.
IFT-5 Last week until start Sequence for liftoff (T-01:15:00)
Latest development at the bottom
- 08-10-2024 Road closures for flight were posted by Cameron County. They are for the 13-10-2024 2024 from 12:00 am to 2:00 pm.
- 09-10-2024 Spacex began installing Flight Termination Systems on Ship 30 and Booster 12.
- 10-10-2024 SpaceX finished installing Flight Termination Systems on Ship 30 and Booster 12.
- 12-10-2024 Marine Hazard Zones.
- 12-10-2024 FAA regulatory approval.
- 12-10-2024 Countdown start 17 hours before opening window.
13-10-2024 Along with the Temporary Flight Restriction for US and Mexico being noticed for 13-10-2024.
13-10-2024 through 19-10-2024 Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) Splashdown
- 13-10-2024 Notice to Air Mariners
- 13-10-2024 Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) Mexico
- 13-10-2024 Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) USA
- 13-10-2024 6:45 am to 8:07 am CT
- 14-10-2024 October 2024 6:45 am to 9:37 am CT
- 15-10-2024 6:45 am to 9:37 am CT
- 13-10-2024 0:20 am Road closed
- 13-10-2024 2:04 am Pad clear
- 13-10-2024 6:35 am Fueling
IFT-5 T-Time
*** Beyond this point all times are indicated in “T-Time” ***
- T- = countdown clock.
- T-0 (or T-zero) = launch
- T+ = mission clock.
- Latest development at the bottom of the list
IFT-5 T-01:15:00 Sequence before liftoff
T-hh:mm:ss
- 17:00:00 Start countdown clock.
- 01:15:00 SpaceX Flight Director conducts poll and verifies GO for propellant load.
- 00:49:50 Ship fuel (liquid methane) load underway.
- 00:48:40 Ship LOX (liquid oxygen) load underway.
- 00:40:40 Booster fuel load underway.
- 00:34:03 Booster LOX load underway.
- 00:19:40 Raptor begins engine chill on booster and ship.
- 00:06:01 Booster CH4 89%, LOX 86% and Ship CH4 93% and LOX 91%.
- 00:03:20 Ship propellant load complete.
- 00:02:50 Booster propellant load complete.
- 00:00:30 SpaceX flight director verifies GO for launch.
- 00:00:10 Flame deflector activation.
- 00:00:03 Raptor ignition sequence begins.
IFT-5 T+00:00:00 Sequence after liftoff
T+hh:mm:ss
- 00:00:03 Liftoff.
- 00:01:02 Max Q (moment of peak mechanical stress on the rocket).
- 00:02:33 Booster MECO (most engines cut off).
- 00:02:42 Hot-staging (Starship Raptor ignition and stage separation).
- 00:02:48 Booster boostback burn start.
- 00:03:41 Booster boostback burn shutdown.
- 00:03:43 Hot-stage jettison.
- 00:06:08 Booster is supersonic.
- 00:06:33 Booster landing burn start.
- 00:06:56 Booster splashdown if no catch attempt.
- 00:08:41 SECO
- 00:45:52 First signs of plasma become visible
- 00:45:30 Entry start. At 85 km altitude the 4 flaps have the control over the Ship.
- 00:57:10 Max Q Part 2
- 01:05:40 Ship landing
IFT-5 Planned trajectory (planned)
IFT-5 Telemetry (actual trajectory profile, table)
| Time | Booster | Booster | Booster | Starship | Starship | Starship | Remarks |
| engines | Speed | Altitude | Speed | Altitude | engines | ||
| running | (km/h) | (km) | (km/h) | (km) | running | ||
| T+00:00:00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| T+00:00:30 | 33 | 531 | 2 | 531 | 2 | 0 | |
| T+00:01:00 | 33 | 1116 | 9 | 1116 | 9 | 0 | Max Q |
| T+00:01:30 | 33 | 1943 | 20 | 1943 | 20 | 0 | |
| T+00:02:00 | 33 | 3338 | 37 | 3338 | 37 | 0 | |
| T+00:02:30 | 33 | 4997 | 60 | 4997 | 60 | 0 | Most Engines Cutoff MECO |
| T+00:03:00 | 3 and 13 | 3655 | 81 | 5531 | 82 | 6 | Hot staging 00:02:41 |
| T+00:03:30 | 13 | 1633 | 93 | 6217 | 99 | 6 | |
| T+00:04:00 | 0 | 1862 | 96 | 7117 | 114 | 6 | |
| T+00:04:30 | 0 | 2221 | 90 | 8215 | 125 | 6 | |
| T+00:05:00 | 0 | 2910 | 75 | 9529 | 134 | 6 | |
| T+00:05:30 | 0 | 3755 | 53 | 11077 | 139 | 6 | |
| T+00:06:00 | 0 | 4331 | 21 | 12922 | 143 | 6 | |
| T+00:06:30 | 13 and 3 | 1221 | 1 | 15180 | 144 | 6 | |
| T+00:07:00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17858 | 144 | 6 | Booster catch |
| T+00:07:30 | 21275 | 145 | 6 | ||||
| T+00:08:00 | 24893 | 147 | 3 | From 6 to 3 | |||
| T+00:08:30 | 26502 | 150 | 0 | 3 engines cut off | |||
| T+00:09:00 | 26488 | 153 | 0 | Ship in orbit | |||
| Coastal | |||||||
| T+00:40:00 | 26520 | 146 | 0 | ||||
| T+00:40:30 | 26538 | 142 | 0 | ||||
| T+00:41:00 | 26555 | 139 | 0 | ||||
| T+00:41:30 | 26573 | 135 | 0 | ||||
| T+00:42:00 | 26591 | 131 | 0 | ||||
| T+00:42:30 | 26609 | 127 | 0 | ||||
| T+00:43:00 | 26628 | 123 | 0 | ||||
| T+00:43:30 | 26647 | 119 | 0 | ||||
| T+00:44:00 | 26665 | 115 | 0 | Entry interphase | |||
| T+00:44:30 | 26684 | 111 | 0 | ||||
| T+00:45:00 | 26702 | 107 | 0 | ||||
| T+00:45:30 | 26720 | 102 | 0 | 45:38 first signs of plasma | |||
| T+00:46:00 | 26736 | 98 | 0 | Nominal entry trajectory | |||
| T+00:46:30 | 26750 | 94 | 0 | ||||
| T+00:47:00 | 26756 | 90 | 0 | Low drag (3 min.) | |||
| T+00:47:30 | 26745 | 86 | 0 | At 85 km altitude: 4 flaps in control over attitude ship | |||
| T+00:48:00 | 26705 | 82 | 0 | ||||
| T+00:48:30 | 26616 | 78 | 0 | 8 km/sec, 5 x speed of sound | |||
| T+00:49:00 | 26430 | 75 | 0 | ||||
| T+00:49:30 | 26098 | 72 | 0 | ||||
| T+00:50:00 | 25679 | 70 | 0 | Peak heating start (10 min.) | |||
| T+00:50:30 | 25157 | 69 | 0 | ||||
| T+00:51:00 | 24618 | 69 | 0 | ||||
| T+00:51:30 | 24114 | 69 | 0 | ||||
| T+00:52:00 | 23668 | 69 | 0 | ||||
| T+00:52:30 | 23288 | 69 | 0 | ||||
| T+00:53:00 | 22903 | 69 | 0 | Peak heating halfway | |||
| T+00:53:30 | 22518 | 69 | 0 | ||||
| T+00:54:00 | 22104 | 67 | 0 | ||||
| T+00:54:30 | 21614 | 65 | 0 | Start engine chill | |||
| T+00:55:00 | 21003 | 63 | 0 | ||||
| T+00:55:30 | 20237 | 61 | 0 | ||||
| T+00:56:00 | 19345 | 60 | 0 | ||||
| T+00:56:30 | 18397 | 59 | 0 | ||||
| T+00:57:00 | 17431 | 58 | 0 | Peak heating end | |||
| T+00:57:30 | 16727 | 57 | 0 | ||||
| T+00:58:00 | 15399 | 55 | 0 | ||||
| T+00:58:30 | 14264 | 53 | 0 | ||||
| T+00:59:00 | 12972 | 51 | 0 | ||||
| T+00:59:30 | 11543 | 48 | 0 | ||||
| T+01:00:00 | 10039 | 46 | 0 | Flaps heating | |||
| T+01:00:30 | 8508 | 43 | 0 | ||||
| T+01:01:00 | 6895 | 41 | 0 | Max entry dynamic pressure. Max Q part 2 | |||
| T+01:01:30 | 5275 | 37 | 0 | Slowing down through atmosphere | |||
| T+01:02:00 | 3633 | 33 | 0 | ||||
| T+01:02:30 | 2072 | 27 | 0 | ||||
| T+01:03:00 | 1070 | 21 | 0 | Mach 2 | |||
| T+01:03:30 | 727 | 15 | 0 | Transonic. Subsonic. | |||
| T+01:04:00 | 556 | 10 | 0 | Landing flop. | |||
| T+01:04:30 | 445 | 6 | 0 | Belly flop | |||
| T+01:05:00 | 370 | 2 | 0 | Landing burn startup at 01:05:23. No Raptors in telemetry. | |||
| T+01:05:44 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Touchdown (soft landing in ocean) |
IFT-5 Evaluation (next weeks)
IFT-5 Full stack positive
- Propellant load quick and finished on time.
IFT-5 Full stack negative
- FAA only gives approval at the last minute. Is there any doubt about an aspect?
IFT-5 Booster positive
- All engines running at liftoff.
- Caught for the first time.
IFT-5 Booster negative
- Approaches the tower at an angle.
- After shutting down the engines, fire remains visible for a long time.
IFT-5 Starship positive
- Vertical landing close to the buoy (target).
IFT-5 Starship negative
- No images of the landing yet.
- The Ship may have exploded just before landing.
- It is not yet clear whether the remains can be fished out of the sea and whether large parts are still intact (14-10-2024).
- Telemetry shows no activity from the 3 central Raptors as the Ship landed.
Next steps
Footnotes
- Internal: funkystuff.org,
- Outgoing: Mahler Foundation, NOS,
- Keywords: IFT-5, test 5, TF5, SpaceX-5, SpaceX5, SpaceX Starship V sequence of events. IFT-5, test 5, TF5, SpaceX 5, SpaceX V, SpaceX-5, SpaceX5, OTF5, OTF-5.