Nov. 18 (UPI) — SpaceX is scheduled to launch its sixth uncrewed test flight of Starship on Tuesday to expand the massive 400-foot rocket’s booster capabilities and bring its “catch and reuse” launch system online, following last month’s historic booster grab.
SpaceX is scheduled to launch the powerful rocket at 4:00 p.m. CT from Starbase in Boca Chica near Brownsville, Texas.
Starship will fly in a similar trajectory to its previous flights, tracking over the Gulf of Mexico before landing for a third straight time in the Indian Ocean “in daylight to provide better conditions for visual observations.”
Last week, Starship “moved to the pad at Starbase in advance of our sixth flight test,” SpaceX wrote in a post on X.
The spacecraft, which includes the 165-foot Starship and the 232-foot “Super Heavy” rocket, will test new limits as SpaceX readies it for crewed flights in the future.
“Objectives include the booster once again returning to the launch site for catch, reigniting a ship Raptor engine while in space and testing a suite of heat shield experiments and maneuvering changes for ship re-entry and descent over the Indian Ocean,” according to SpaceX.
While SpaceX is hoping to repeat last month’s successful fifth test flight and steer Starship’s 20-story rocket booster autonomously to the landing pad, where it will be caught with two giant mechanical arms, it plans to fly the ship at an even “higher angle of attack” to test its limits for future landings.
“Starship’s fifth flight was a seminal moment in iterating towards a fully and rapidly reusable launch system,” SpaceX wrote in a post earlier this month.
SpaceX said last month’s test flight provided “valuable data to continue improving hardware and software performance.” Hardware upgrades have been added to booster propulsion systems and to increase structural strength in key areas for Tuesday’s launch.
While Starship’s sixth test flight is programmed to land in the Indian Ocean, if any conditions are “unacceptable,” it will land with a soft splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico.
“We accept no compromises when it comes to ensuring the safety of the public and our team, and the return will only take place if conditions are right,” SpaceX said.
SpaceX also warned that there will be “audible sonic booms in the area,” as the returning booster slows down from supersonic speeds.
If all goes according to plan, NASA plans to use Starship to transport astronauts for its Artemis moon missions. SpaceX founder Elon Musk is also hoping to send the first Starships to Mars when Earth and Mars line up in late 2026.
President-elect Donald Trump is expected to attend Tuesday’s sixth Starship launch with Musk. Trump has tapped Musk, along with Vivek Ramaswamy, to run his new Department of Government Efficiency.