Image: SpaceX
SpaceX’s next big launch is here. On Thursday at 5:37PM ET, Elon Musk’s space company will attempt to launch Starship for its 7th test flight from Boca Chica, Texas. You can watch the livestream from SpaceX’s YouTube channel, on X, or its website.
At 403 feet tall, Starship is the biggest launch vehicle ever. It’s made up of two parts: the Starship spacecraft, which is designed to carry crew and cargo into orbit, and the Super Heavy Booster, which comes with 33 SpaceX Raptor engines that help propel Starship into space. Both the Starship spacecraft and its Super Heavy booster are reusable.
Last year, SpaceX’s launch tower successfully caught its Super Heavy following launch. The company will once again attempt to catch the booster with the launch tower’s “chopstick” arms.
During its seventh test flight, Starship will attempt to deploy 10 Starlink “simulators” for the first time. These mock satellites are the same size and weight as Starlink’s actual internet satellites, but they won’t stay in space. Instead, they’ll follow the “same suborbital trajectory as Starship and are expected to demise upon entry.”
Starship also features “major improvements to reliability and performance” this time around, making the vehicle slightly taller, according to SpaceX. Along with a redesigned propulsion system and an improved flight computer, Starship will debut a new heat shield with “latest generation tiles” and a “backup layer to protect from missing or damaged tiles.”