From: snidely.too@gmail.com   
      
   Just this Sunday, Alain Fournier puzzled about:   
   > Does anyone have information about when SpaceX will attempt a full Starship   
   > launch? Where are they with those 75 actions needed to get their launch   
   > licence? In July, Musk was saying that a launch vehicle was to be ready   
   > within a few weeks. So is there a Starship ready just waiting for its launch   
   > licence?   
      
   No.  Starship 24 has done a static fire of all 6 engines.  Booster 7   
   has done a static fire of at least 3 engines (1 in all 3 rings) and   
   spin prime tests of at least 7 engines.  End of October for a launch   
   test is thought to be possible but only if no hiccups occur in the rest   
   of the ground testing.   
      
   > I know that SKY Perfect JSAT Holdings Inc has a contract with SpaceX for   
   > delivery of its Superbird-9 satellite on a Starship launcher in 2024. But   
   > there should be some earlier test launches.   
      
   I expect to see several launches in 2023.  Ships 25 and 26 will be   
   ready by January, and Booster 8 before then, and McGregor is being kept   
   busy testing Raptor 2's.   Rings to build more Starships and more   
   Boosters are plentiful.   
      
   Expect to see more design changes.  Starship flaps will likely be a   
   visible change to be seen sometime after 26.   
      
   /dps   
      
   --   
   We’ve learned way more than we wanted to know about the early history   
   of American professional basketball, like that you could have once   
   watched a game between teams named the Indianapolis Kautskys and the   
   Akron Firestone Non-Skids.   -- fivethirtyeight.com   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)