Starship | Flight 7 The Starship program, fresh off four flights in 2024, is preparing for its first flight of 2025. Starship Flight 7, another suborbital flight at a nearly orbital velocity, is scheduled to launch from Pad A at Starbase, Texas, on Friday, Jan. 10, at 4:00 PM CST (22:00 UTC). Liftoff is currently set for the start of a 98-minute window that ends at 5:38 PM CST (23:38 UTC). Flight 7, using Booster 14 and Ship 33, will see Starship fly eastward over the Gulf of Mexico out of Starbase. Booster 14 will attempt a catch at Pad A, flying a precise trajectory that will allow it to be captured by the Mechazilla “chopstick” arms on the launch tower. A booster catch attempt succeeded on Flight 5 but was waved off during Flight 6 due to issues with ground equipment. Once Ship 33 reaches its intended suborbital trajectory, its tasks will include another in-space restart of a Raptor engine and a deployment of ten simulated Starlink v3 satellites from its payload bay. The deployment will use a “PEZ dispenser” to jettison the dummy satellites in succession, and these payloads will enter the atmosphere using the same suborbital trajectory as Ship 33. A then-live view of Ship 29 during atmospheric reentry, provided by SpaceX’s Starlink constellation. (Credit: SpaceX) Ship 33 will reenter similarly to earlier flights before splashing down in the Indian Ocean. Liftoff is timed to enable a daylight reentry and ocean landing of Ship 33, and many additional cameras and sensors will be installed on the launch vehicle to provide additional views and data. Ship 33 is the first Block 2 Starship, with modifications to the fins, heat shield, and more. If schedules hold, Flight 7 will be SpaceX’s sixth launch of the year. The company plans to fly up to 25 Starship missions this year. As Starship is a new system, and the second launch pad at Starbase is still some time away from completion, SpaceX’s cadence goal for Starship in 2025 is very ambitious. However, the Starship program will likely exceed last year’s totals and achievements. (Lead image: New Glenn NG1 vehicle on the pad at LC-36. Credit: Max Evans for NSF)