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SpaceX’s second Falcon Heavy launch slips into next week out of caution

(SpaceX)

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Update: No official comment has been offered but sourced reports indicate that SpaceX’s second Falcon Heavy launch will slip from a target of April 7th into “next week”, April 8-14. The massive rocket’s critical static fire test has also been pushed from April 4th to 5th, allowing additional time for SpaceX engineers and technicians to verify Falcon Heavy’s health. Stay tuned as we get closer to that test ignition and SpaceX releasing an official launch date.

The first Block 5 variant of SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket has rolled out to Launch Pad 39A for an inaugural launch that could occur as early as April 7th. Minor delays, however, are extremely likely for the second Falcon Heavy launch attempt ever, with the most likely dates resting closer to April 8-11.

With an appearance noticeably deviating from Falcon 9 Block 5’s more tuxedo-esque exterior, Falcon Heavy and its all-new boosters still sport the same polished white skin and some of the black, felt-like thermal protection that helps to make the upgraded boosters so reusable. That reusability will be tested to the extreme as few as two months after launch – assuming all goes well – with the US Air Force’s STP-2 mission, set to reuse both of Falcon Heavy Flight 2’s side boosters, B1052 and B1053.

Above all else, it should be noted that the likelihood of Falcon Heavy Flight 2’s actual launch date slipping is not to say that anything at all is technically or operationally wrong with the rocket or ground support equipment (GSE). Rather, it’s simply a dose of pragmatism for a launch date that was originally approved on the range alongside a static fire on March 31st. In other words, SpaceX was anticipating the need for approximately seven days between static fire and launch, a fairly believable target relative to Falcon Heavy’s first launch flow.

Even if SpaceX completes a flawless Falcon Heavy static fire immediately after the 6 pm EDT window opens, this would give company engineers and technicians less than 72 hours to turn the rocket around for launch as soon as 6:36 pm EDT on April 7th. That process involves a huge amount of work, including the actual static fire, safely detanking (removing propellant), returning to Pad 39A’s hangar, installing the payload fairing, ensuring payload health, rolling back out to the pad, and integrating the transporter with the launch mount. Throughout, many checks and double checks are made to ensure that everything is ready for flight.

Safely completing that work in ~72 hours is extremely difficult for Falcon 9, let alone a significantly modified Falcon Heavy preparing for the vehicle’s second launch attempt ever. For reference, excluding a few outlier launches, Falcon 9 Block 5’s mean time between static fire and launch is ~4.7 days, while the mode is 5 days (6/10 launches). Outliers include missions like SSO-A, DM-1, and GPS III SV01, all of which required unique care and caution for various reasons. Chances are good that Falcon Heavy Flight 2 will probably improve upon Flight 1, which took several days to complete a static fire and 13 more days before a launch attempt. Still, the rocket is very unlikely to beat Falcon 9 Block 5’s average time-to-launch.

Falcon Heavy prepares for its inaugural launch, February 2018. (SpaceX)

All in good time

There is probably a 5% chance of Falcon Heavy launching on April 7th even if the static fire happens right on time and shows all systems running in the green. If SpaceX is unable to fit a static fire into the April 4th window, that will likely slip to 0%. Either way, we can expect SpaceX to provide an updated launch window or rough estimate as early as today, especially if the static fire test is successfully completed.

In the meantime, drone ship Of Course I Still Love You (OCISLY) – accompanied by a tug boat – is heading nearly 1000 km (620 mi) into the Atlantic Ocean to prepare for the attempted recovery of Falcon Heavy’s center core. In other words, it will likely be the fastest and farther a SpaceX booster has ever traveled while still attempting to land. Just Falcon Heavy’s launch debut, both side boosters will attempt to land back at Landing Zones 1 and 2 (LZ-1 & LZ-2) around 8-10 minutes after liftoff. The 6000-kg (~13,200 lb) Lockheed Martin-built Arabsat 6A satellite will be the rocket’s first commercial payload, likely heading to a high-energy geostationary transfer orbit.

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Eric Ralph is Teslarati's senior spaceflight reporter and has been covering the industry in some capacity for almost half a decade, largely spurred in 2016 by a trip to Mexico to watch Elon Musk reveal SpaceX's plans for Mars in person. Aside from spreading interest and excitement about spaceflight far and wide, his primary goal is to cover humanity's ongoing efforts to expand beyond Earth to the Moon, Mars, and elsewhere.

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Starship’s next chapter: SpaceX eyes tower catch after flawless Flight 11

Elon Musk has revealed the tentative timeframe for Starship’s next milestone that would push the spacecraft’s reusability to a whole new level. 

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Credit: SpaceX

Elon Musk has revealed the tentative timeframe for Starship’s next milestone that would push the spacecraft’s reusability to a whole new level. 

Following Flight 11’s flawless mission, Musk noted on X that SpaceX will be aiming to catch the Starship Upper Stage with its launch tower as early as spring 2026. This should pave the way for SpaceX to start optimizing Starship for maximum reusability.

Flight 11 closes the Starship V2 chapter on a high note

Starship’s eleventh flight, which launched from Starbase, Texas, achieved every major mission objective. The Super Heavy booster completed a successful ascent, hover, and soft splashdown in the Gulf of America, while the upper stage executed an orbit burn, deployed Starlink simulators, and returned with a controlled reentry over the Indian Ocean.

This mission officially closed the chapter on the second-generation Starship and first-generation Super Heavy booster, and it set the stage for a redesigned vehicle built for orbital payload missions, propellant transfer, and beyond. It should be noted that Elon Musk has mentioned on X that Starship V3, at least if things go well, might be capable of reaching Mars.

Elon Musk confirms tower catch attempt set for spring

After Flight 11’s success, Musk confirmed that SpaceX will attempt to catch the Starship Upper Stage with its launch tower arms, fondly dubbed by the spaceflight community as “chopsticks,” in the coming months. Musk’s announcement came as a response to an X user who asked when the tower could start catching the Starship Upper Stage. In his reply, Musk simply wrote “Springtime.” 

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Starship’s reusability is a key feature of the spacecraft, with SpaceX aiming to achieve a launch cadence that is almost comparable to conventional aircraft. For such a scenario to be feasible, launch tower catches of both Starship’s Upper Stage and its Super Heavy booster have to be routine.

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Elon Musk

SpaceX is preparing to launch Starship V2 one final time

The mission will test reentry dynamics, new landing burn configurations, and heat-shield upgrades.

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Credit: SpaceX/X

SpaceX is preparing to launch its final Starship V2 rocket on October 13, 2025. The launch closes the curtain on Starship V2 and marks the start of the ambitious spacecraft’s V3 era. 

Liftoff for Flight 11 is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. ET from Starbase in South Texas, with a 75-minute launch window. The mission will test reentry dynamics, new landing burn configurations, and heat-shield upgrades ahead of the transition to the next-generation Starship V3.

Starship V3 and beyond

Elon Musk confirmed on X that Starship V3 is already in production and could be “built & tested” and perhaps even flown before the end of 2025. The new version is expected to feature major performance and scale improvements, with Musk stating that Starship V3, provided that things go well, might be capable of reaching Mars, though V4 is more likely to perform a full-scale mission to the red planet. 

“Only one more V2 left to launch,” Musk wrote back in August following Starship’s successful Flight 10 mission. In another post, Musk stated that “Starship V3 is a massive upgrade from the current V2 and should be through production and testing by end of year, with heavy flight activity next year.”

Starship V2’s final mission

Flight 11 is designed to push the limits of Starship V2. SpaceX engineers have intentionally removed heat-shield tiles in vulnerable areas to analyze how the vehicle handles atmospheric reentry under stress, as noted in a Space.com report. The test will also refine subsonic guidance algorithms and new landing burn sequences for the Super Heavy booster that would be used for Starship V3.

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“Super Heavy will ignite 13 engines at the start of the landing burn and then transition to a new configuration with five engines running for the divert phase. Previously done with three engines, the planned baseline for V3 Super Heavy will use five engines during the section of the burn responsible for fine-tuning the booster’s path, adding additional redundancy for spontaneous engine shutdowns. 

“The booster will then transition to its three center engines for the end of the landing burn, entering a full hover while still above the ocean surface, followed by shutdown and dropping into the Gulf of America,” SpaceX wrote in a post on its official website.

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Starlink makes a difference in Philippine province ravaged by typhoon

The Severe Tropical Storm battered the province, leaving communications networks in the area in shambles.

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Credit: Starlink/X

The Philippines’ Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) is using Starlink to provide connectivity in the municipality of Masbate, which was affected by Severe Tropical Storm Opong (international name Bualoi). 

The Severe Tropical Storm battered the province, leaving communications networks in the area in shambles.

Starlink units enhance connectivity

DICT Secretary Henry Aguda visited the province to assess internet and communications infrastructure and deliver 10 additional Starlink satellite units, according to the Philippine News Agency. The is move aimed at strengthening emergency response and restore digital access to the area.

Aguda met with Masbate Governor Richard Kho during his visit and joined telecommunications representatives in inspecting provincial offices, free charging stations, and Wi-Fi connectivity sites for residents. 

According to DICT officer-in-charge Rachel Ann Grabador, three Starlink units, 10 routers, and a 2kW solar-powered station have already been deployed in the province following the typhoon. The units have been installed at key facilities such as Masbate Airport’s communications tower and the Masbate Provincial Hospital’s administrative office. 

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Game-changing technology

Thanks to its global coverage and its capability to provide high-speed internet connectivity even in remote areas, Starlink has become the best communications solution that can be deployed in the aftermath of natural disasters. Its low-cost kits, which are capable of of providing fast internet speeds, are also portable, making them easy to deploy in areas that are damaged by natural disasters.

As noted in a Space.com report, there are currently 8,475 Starlink satellites in orbit, of which 8,460 are working, as of September 25, 2025. Initially, SpaceX had filed documents with International regulators to place about 4,000 Starlink satellites in Low Earth Orbit. Over time, however, the number of planned Starlink satellites has grown, with SpaceX aiming to launch as many as 42,000 Starlink satellites to fully connect the globe.

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