This Week Ahead in Launches: Starship delay and more Gen 2 Starlink satellites

This is a great week for those of us that are Starship fans since it could (maybe), possibly, make its maiden launch on its integrated flight test. Meanwhile, SpaceX is also launching its second batch of Gen 2 Starlink satellites later this week.

This Week’s Launches

• April 19
  • SpaceX Starship Integrated Flight Test, NET
    • Starbase, Texas
  • SpaceX Falcon 9 Starlink 6-2, 8:18 a.m. ET
    • SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
• April 22
  • ISRO PSLV TeLOS 2, 5:00 a.m. ET
    • Satish Dhawan Space Center, Sriharikota, India

Next batch of Gen 2 Starlink satellites this week

On Wednesday, SpaceX is preparing to launch its second batch of Gen 2 mini Starlink satellites from the East Coast on a Falcon 9 rocket. These satellites, hence the name, are smaller versions of the Gen 2 Starlink Satellites that will eventually launch on Starship.

With the development of Starship taking longer than planned (more on that in the next section), SpaceX had to move to smaller versions of these satellites to boost Starlink’s infrastructure and bring profitability. It also allows SpaceX to flight test the hardware with smaller batches before hundreds at a time are launched on Starship.

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That is one reason why this launch is so much later than expected. SpaceX launched the first batch of Gen 2 mini-satellites back in February but ran into some troubles while in orbit. However, they seem to have resolved the issues, as this mission will have a manifest of 21 satellites and part of Group 6, indicating these are Gen 2 minis.

Second attempt at Starship IFT launch from Texas

Speaking of Starship, SpaceX attempted to launch its first fully integrated rocket around the Earth today but scrubbed about ten minutes before liftoff. SpaceX ran into issues with a valve in the pressurization system in the Superheavy Booster, which made the launch director switch from a launch attempt to a wet dress rehearsal.

The count stopped at T-40 seconds, and then teams detanked the rocket. So now SpaceX is working on fixing the problem before the next possible launch attempt 48 hours from this morning. So that will place the next launch attempt Wednesday, but upper-level winds worsen as the week progresses.

I wouldn’t be surprised if more delays show up, so don’t keep this as a hard launch date.