SpaceX is preparing for the 11th flight test of its Starship megarocket, which will launch from its starbase in Texas on Monday. The launch window opens on October 13 at 7:15 p.m. ET. You will be able to watch live from 30 minutes before takeoff on the EspaceX website and on
The spaceship last flight follows a successful test at the end of August, during which it deployed a payload — eight dummy Starlink satellites — in space for the first time after a failed attempt earlier in the year. The company plans to conduct another payload demonstration for Flight 11, again using eight Starlink simulators. For this flight, SpaceX is using a Super Heavy booster already in use, 24 of its 33 Raptor engines having been proven in flight. The objectives this time include “flight experiments collecting data for the next-generation Super Heavy booster, stress testing the Starship’s heat shield, and demonstrating maneuvers that will mimic the upper stage’s final approach for future return to the launch site.”
SpaceX will not attempt to catch Super Heavy in his “chopsticks” back to the launch site this time. The booster should instead end up in the Gulf of Mexico, while Starship will crash in the Indian Ocean.
