https://spacenews.com/nasa-really-lo...p-test-flight/
NASA “really looking forward” to next Starship test flight
WASHINGTON — As SpaceX prepares for the test flight of its Starship vehicle, NASA is closely watching as it waits for the company to achieve the next milestones on development of the lunar lander version of the vehicle.
SpaceX announced late Oct. 7 that it was preparing to launch Starship on its fifth integrated test flight as soon as Oct. 13, pending regulatory approval. The mission will be similar to the fourth mission in June, with the Starship upper stage flying a suborbital trajectory targeting a splashdown in the Indian Ocean.
A key difference, though, is that the Super Heavy booster will attempt to return the Starbase launch site at Boca Chica, Texas. That would allow the launch tower to “catch” the booster with a pair of mechanical arms and set it down on the launch mount. That is a key element of SpaceX’s long-term plans to enable rapid reuse of the vehicle.
“Thousands of distinct vehicle and pad criteria must be met prior to a return and catch attempt of the Super Heavy booster, which will require healthy systems on the booster and tower and a manual command from the mission’s Flight Director,” the company stated. If those conditions are not met, the booster will instead splash down in the Gulf of Mexico.
Speaking at an Oct. 9 meeting of the National Academies’ Committee on Biological and Physical Sciences in Space, Bill Gerstenmaier, SpaceX vice president for build and flight reliability, expressed optimism that the booster could make it back for a catch by the launch tower. “We landed with half a centimeter accuracy in the ocean” on the previous flight, he said, “so we think we have a reasonable chance to go back to the tower.”……..