Watch live as SpaceX attempts second booster capture during latest spacecraft test launch (updated)

Updated: January 15, 1:14 p.m. ET: Bad weather forced scrubbing of today’s launch. SpaceX is now targeting Thursday, January 16, with a 60-minute launch window opening at 5 p.m. ET.

The original article follows.

SpaceX is preparing for a Starship launch like no other. On its seventh launch from the Texas site, the rocket will attempt to deploy Starlink simulators and test important hardware upgrades.

Starship is scheduled to lift off on Wednesday, January 15, during a 60-minute launch window that opens at 5 p.m. ET. The largest rocket ever built will launch from SpaceX’s Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas. A live stream of Starship’s seventh test flight will begin approximately 35 minutes before launch time, and you can tune in through SpaceX’s website or through the company’s profile on X. You can also watch the coverage from third parties on the live streams shown below.

Although Starship’s first test flights got off to a rocky start, SpaceX has seen some success with the latest launches of its revolutionary megarocket. In October 2024, Starship launched for a groundbreaking fifth test flight during which the rocket’s 71-meter-tall Super Heavy booster was caught mid-flight by the giant Mechazilla Tower, as it is called. The rocket’s most recent test flight took place on November 20, 2024, and although SpaceX opted not to conduct a booster capture, Starship operated nominally during its suborbital launch. For this seventh launch, SpaceX will attempt its second successful capture of the enormous booster.

This time, SpaceX plans to launch a “next-generation craft with significant improvements,” the company wrote in a statement. During Wednesday’s launch, SpaceX will attempt Starship’s first payload deployment test. For this test, the rocket will deploy 10 Starlink simulators, which will be similar in size and weight to the company’s next-generation satellites. The simulators will not remain in orbit, however, but are designed to resume a suborbital trajectory similar to that of the rocket itself.

For its seventh flight, Starship will feature a smaller front flap located higher on the rocket to reduce heating during reentry. The rocket’s propulsion system has also been upgraded to hold 25 percent more fuel, as well as improved avionics for better control of valves and sensor readings, increasing performance and enabling longer missions, according to SpaceX.

The Starship’s heat shield will use new and improved tiles, with a backup layer underneath in case one of the tiles falls or is damaged during re-entry. SpaceX also redesigned the Starship’s avionics to include a “more powerful flight computer” and integrated antennas to combine Starlink, Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) and backup radio frequency communications functions in each unit.

SpaceX’s future rocket is a two-stage, reusable superheavy launch vehicle designed to carry crew and cargo to orbit, the Moon and perhaps even Mars. The company has big plans for its Starship rocket this year, hoping for up to 25 launches in 2025. That’s great for spaceflight, but it could mean bad news for those around the launch site, as the rocket produces sonic booms approximately 10 times longer. stronger than SpaceX’s Falcon 9.