The Starship program is entering a critical period as Flight 9 preparations continue for a launch now likely toward the end of May after the Memorial Day holiday in the United States. After two consecutive setbacks with the early terminations of Flight 7 and 8 over the Caribbean, a great deal is riding on how Flight 9 performs.
Recent testing on Ship 35 featured three static test firings, one of which clearly showed to be problematic, while Booster 14-2 rolled back to the production site during preparations for its second and last flight. Recent notices point to a slip in Flight 9’s launch until past May 26, Memorial Day in the U.S.