Check out SpaceX's cinematic trailer for the upcoming Starship rocket launch this Friday.

      Starship | Seventh Flight Test

      SpaceX is in the final stages of preparing for the eighth flight test of its Starship megarocket on Friday. In anticipation of the event, the company, led by Elon Musk, has released a cinematic recap of the most recent flight test, which occurred in January. They also shared images of the Super Heavy booster on the launchpad at SpaceX’s facility located near Boca Chica, Texas.

      When the upper-stage Starship craft is mounted on the world’s most potent booster within the next day or two, the total height of the Starship vehicle will reach an astounding 120 meters. The uncrewed test mission on Friday will again attempt the complex “catch” maneuver, where two large mechanical arms on the launch tower grasp the Super Heavy booster as it returns to Earth shortly after launching the Starship spacecraft into orbit. SpaceX has successfully completed this maneuver twice so far, and once mastered, it will enable the company to reuse the booster several times, enhancing cost efficiency for future Starship missions.

      The spacecraft is also designed to land post-launch—whether on another planet or back on Earth—but during the integrated flight tests, SpaceX has been performing controlled landings of the Starship in the Indian Ocean. However, in last month’s test, a technical malfunction led to the Starship burning up over the Caribbean, a dramatic incident that was captured on video.

      NASA aims to use Starship for crew and cargo missions to the moon as part of the Artemis program beginning in 2027. Nevertheless, Musk is eager to redirect attention to Mars, ambitiously aiming to send the first humans to the red planet by the decade's end. Yet, considering how often Musk's timelines shift, it wouldn't be surprising if such a mission occurs in the 2030s at the earliest. Ahead of Friday’s eighth test of the Starship rocket, SpaceX remarked: “As always, success comes from what we learned, and this flight test will help us enhance Starship’s reliability as SpaceX strives to make life multiplanetary.”

      Not so long ago, Trevor transitioned from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)...

      Watch SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft crash to Earth

      SpaceX successfully landed its first-stage Super Heavy booster during the seventh test of the towering Starship rocket on Thursday; however, the upper-stage Starship spacecraft experienced what SpaceX refers to as a “rapid unscheduled disassembly” (commonly known as an explosion) shortly after stage separation. Soon after, videos surfaced on social media showing pieces of the uncrewed Starship falling back to Earth near the Turks and Caicos Islands, approximately 1,600 miles (2,600 km) east of the launch site in Boca Chica, Texas. SpaceX chief Elon Musk shared one of these videos, stating: "Success is uncertain, but entertainment is guaranteed!" Nonetheless, it was later indicated that the FAA had to reroute several flights in the vicinity to keep aircraft clear of the descending debris. It remains unclear if any of the debris made landfall or if it all landed in the sea.

      SpaceX makes incredible booster catch but loses rocket on seventh Starship test flight

      SpaceX achieved an impressive catch of its Super Heavy Booster during the seventh test flight of its Starship rocket but lost the vehicle. Launched at 5:37 p.m. ET on Thursday, January 16, from SpaceX’s facility in Boca Chica, Texas, this marked only the second time the large booster of the Starship has been successfully caught, supporting SpaceX's goal of creating a reusable heavy-lift vehicle. However, the Starship's upper stage—responsible for orbiting and deploying payloads—encountered engine issues during its ascent, and communication with it was lost approximately 10 minutes after launch, around the time of main engine shut-off.

      SpaceX won’t be launching its big Starship test flight today after all

      Space enthusiasts were excitedly preparing for an exhilarating evening since SpaceX was scheduled to launch its formidable Starship on its seventh test flight. The objective was to launch the massive rocket and deploy a payload for the first time while also attempting to catch the Super Heavy Booster at the Boca Chica, Texas launch tower. However, the test flight has been postponed by one day due to weather conditions. The launch was originally set for tonight, Wednesday, January 15, but SpaceX announced a delay until 5 p.m. ET on Thursday, January 16, within a 60-minute launch window. Although rockets can generally cope with some adverse weather conditions like wind and rain, high winds or potential lightning strikes can pose risks to sensitive electronics, prompting launches to await clearer conditions.