Exciting Developments in Spaceflight: Starship Flight 7 and New Glenn Maiden Flight
John J. DeAlessio III
Starship Flight 7 Update
NASA Imaging for Starship Flight 7
For this launch, NASA plans to use a specially equipped Gulfstream V aircraft (N95NA) to capture high-resolution images of the Starship’s re-entry and peak-heating phase.
The aircraft will be positioned to observe the spacecraft as it emerges over the horizon and splashes down in the eastern Indian Ocean.
This will be the first time such detailed imaging is conducted for a vehicle of this size.
Target Launch Date
Starship Flight 7 is targeted for January 16th, 2025, with the launch window opening at 5:00 PM EST.
It ended up launching on that day at 5:37 PM, with the mission being a partial success, since although Booster 14 was caught successfully by the Mechazilla launch tower, making it only the second Super Heavy booster to do so, Ship 33 was unfortunately lost during it's ascent.
A lot of useful data was no doubt still gathered from the flight, and it will help improve the reliability of Block 2 ships on future flights, which should prevent the same issue that happened to Ship 33 from occurring on upcoming test missions, such as Flight 8.
SpaceX recently received approval from the FAA on December 17th, 2024, clearing the way for this pivotal test flight.
Backup launch dates also include January 17th.
Technological Upgrades
Heat Shield Enhancements
The new heat shield features tiles that are twice as strong as those used in Flight 6, along with an ablative secondary structure for added protection.
Block 2 Ship 33 Improvements
Upgrades include a shorter payload bay (3 rings instead of 5), increased propellant tank size (making the ship 1.8 meters taller), redesigned forward flaps, and independent downcomers for each Raptor vacuum engine.
Ship 33 also features a complete redesign of its avionics, enhancing its performance and mission duration and allowing it to stay longer in space compared to previous ships, although longer mission durations for the upper stage won't be tested until future orbital Starship flights.
You can see a comparison between Ship 33's Block 2 design and the earlier Starship Block designs in the image above.
Suborbital Flight Decision
SpaceX decided to keep the Flight 7 mission profile suborbital rather than fully orbital to test and validate these upgrades in a controlled environment prior to the first flights with Block 2 ships going orbital.
Static Fire Tests
SpaceX conducted successful static fire tests for both Booster 14 and Ship 33 (the booster-ship pairing for Flight 7) last month in December, finishing their engine testing ahead of the flight.
Booster 14 completed it's static fire on December 9th.
While Ship 33 completed 2 static fires, on December 15th and 16th respectively.
Payload Deployment
For the first time, Ship 33 will carry 10 Starlink simulators, similar in size and weight to next-generation Starlink satellites.
This will be the first exercise of a satellite deploy mission for Starship, and the satellites will be deployed onto the same suborbital trajectory as the ship and target a splashdown in the Indian Ocean.
Ship Rollout and Final Preparations
Ship 33 rolled out to the launch site early on January 9th ahead of a full stack which happened later that day, followed by a successful wet dress rehearsal test on January 10th.
The wet dress rehearsal of the full flight stack was the final test before the launch attempt on January 15th.
New Glenn "Blue Ring Pathfinder" Maiden Flight Update
Launch Date
Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket, with the first stage booster (GS1-SN001) being nicknamed “So You're Telling Me There's a Chance”, is set to make it's highly anticipated maiden flight on January 16th, 2025, with the launch window opening at 1:00 AM EST.
It ended up launching on that day at 2:03 AM, with the mission (besides a failed booster landing attempt which was an ambitious goal) being a success, with the primary objectives achieved.
This flight, regardless of the outcome, will be historic, with the New Glenn first stage booster aiming to become only the second orbital class rocket booster to land on a platform (a ship Blue Origin has named Jacklyn) in the ocean, after SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket.
Static Fire Test
Blue Origin successfully conducted a 24-second static fire test of New Glenn’s seven BE-4 engines on December 27th, 2024 at approximately 7:46:43 PM EST.
The test was conducted at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and marked a significant milestone, validating the launch pad, ground infrastructure, and rocket for launch.
The static fire was the final major test before the upcoming maiden flight.
Mission Objectives
The New Glenn rocket’s second stage will include a prototype Blue Ring Pathfinder spacecraft to demonstrate various technologies and validate future mission capabilities.
New Glenn aims to provide reliable, cost-effective access to space for a variety of payloads, including commercial satellites, national security missions, and human spaceflight.
More Info & Where To Watch?
You can find more info about these vehicles and flights at the following locations.
- Ship 33 / Booster 14 / Flight Test 7 (Starship SpaceX Wiki)
- New Glenn Launch Date / Starship Flight 7 Launch Date (TLP Network)
- New Glenn Launch Info / Starship Flight 7 Launch Info (Next Spaceflight)
As for where to watch the launches if you can't attend them in person, you'll be able to find YouTube launch streams on NASASpaceflight (NSF), Spaceflight Now (SFN), LabPadre, and Everyday Astronaut, and SpaceX and Blue Origin do official livestreams for their launches as well.
When the flights are close to happening and the NSF, SFN, LabPadre, and Everyday Astronaut launch streams are posted, I'll add the actual links and videos to where you can watch them below.
NEW GLENN MAIDEN FLIGHT (Launched On 01/16/2025 @ 2:03 AM EST)
NSF New Glenn Maiden Flight Launch Stream
SFN New Glenn Maiden Flight Launch Stream
Everyday Astronaut New Glenn Maiden Flight Launch Stream
Blue Origin New Glenn Maiden Flight Official Launch Stream
STARSHIP FLIGHT 7 (Launched On 01/16/2025 @ 5:37 PM EST)
NSF Starship Flight 7 Launch Stream
SFN Starship Flight 7 Launch Stream
LabPadre Starship Flight 7 Launch Stream
Everyday Astronaut Starship Flight 7 Launch Stream
SpaceX Starship Flight 7 Official Launch Stream
Conclusion & Looking Ahead
With the FAA's streamlined licensing process and continuous improvements, SpaceX's Starship Flight 7 and Blue Origin's New Glenn Maiden Flight are poised to be significant milestones in space exploration.
Stay tuned for more updates as we approach the launch dates. The future of space exploration is looking brighter than ever!
Happy New Year, and hopefully 2025 be be filled with even more groundbreaking achievements and spaceflight missions, as we begin the new year with an exciting start to spaceflight!