[bdamm]

Yes, but the point was that they can't launch starlinks or just about any commercially meaningful payload until they are reliably in orbit, and they can't reliably get into orbit until they demonstrate at least one relight, because they need to reliably re-enter the atmosphere for the reusability tests.

So they are at least one more launch away from launching starlinks.

[DarmokJalad1701]

> commercially meaningful payload until they are reliably in orbit,

Which then can do without a relight.

> and they can't reliably get into orbit until they demonstrate at least one re-light

And part of testing deorbit/landing capability includes testing that they can relight the engine.

So they could launch the next one with Starlinks (possibly test articles of those as well since no full-size V2 satellites have been laucnhed yet). Get it into orbit and include a deorbit burn/re-entry as part of the flight plan. If the latter part somehow still does not work out ... they still got Starlinks into orbit. And they now have more data to fix it on the next flight. They already have several vehicles lined up for static fires and flight tests.

[bandyaboot]

They won’t put starship into orbit until they can test relight. They won’t risk, nor would they be allowed to risk putting it up there without a demonstrated ability to bring it back down in a controlled manner.

[DarmokJalad1701]

> They won’t put starship into orbit until they can test relight.

Why can't they test relight? Also, they are already filing paperwork for IFT-4:

https://apps.fcc.gov/oetcf/els/reports/STA_Print.cfm?mode=cu...

"Application includes a sub-orbital first stage booster and an orbital second stage"

[bandyaboot]

They can test relight, but my point was that they wouldn't do it with Starship in orbit, because if it doesn't work, then they have no idea where it's coming back down. But maybe that's not as much of a problem as I had assumed given what's stated in the FCC application.