SpaceX readies for sixth Starship test launch: here's when it could happen
Yesterday at 11:12 AM
SpaceX is readying for its sixth test launch of Starship as it aims to push the envelope once again in preparations for another potential “catch” of great proportions sometime next year.
Following the successful catch of the first-stage booster last month, CEO Elon Musk wants to take things a step further. A few weeks ago, he said that SpaceX could attempt to catch both the booster and the upper stage, but this likely won’t happen until next year.
Whether SpaceX even attempts the feat could be revealed sooner than we might think. While it is unlikely the company will attempt to catch the upper stage with the next launch, there always is the possibility.
The company recently rolled Starship to its launch pad, indicating the sixth test launch could be nearing, less than one month after its fifth.
Starship moved to the pad at Starbase in advance of our sixth flight test pic.twitter.com/u6Mbc35ARr
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) November 12, 2024
Other preparations are also taking place. Brownsville, Texas, is shutting down roads for SpaceX operations on November 18, 19, and 20 from 8 am to 10 pm.
The implications of the Starship program are huge, especially considering Musk revealed recently that he hopes to send the rocket to Mars in two years.
Two years after that, he’d like to put humans on Starship and attempt the first manned flights to Mars, the first step in the ultimately bold plan to establish the red planet as the first to support human beings outside of Earth.
Musk said:
"The first Starships to Mars will launch in 2 years when the next Earth-Mars transfer window opens. These will be uncrewed to test the reliability of landing intact on Mars. If those landings go well, then the first crewed flights to Mars will be in 4 years."
SpaceX said the test flight was expected for Monday, November 18, but it is evident the company is preparing
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