SpaceX’s upcoming Starship launch is ready to go.
On Friday (Jan. 10), SpaceX successfully assembled its Starship spacecraft on top of a massive Super Heavy booster in preparation for the next launch of the world’s largest rocket next week. The launch is scheduled for 5 p.m. EST (2200 GMT) on Monday (Jan. 13) from SpaceX’s Starbase test site near Boca Chica Beach in South Texas.
“Flight 7 Starship and Super Heavy stacked on the launch pad at Starbase,” SpaceX posted on the social media site X on Friday.
SpaceX’s Starship Flight 7 mission will be testing a new version of Starship and is the first of potentially 25 launches of Starship planned for this year. With the Starship upper-stage vehicle stacked on top of its Super Heavy booster, the entire rocket reaches a height of nearly 400 feet (122 meters), making it the tallest and most powerful launch vehicle on Earth.
As the mission name suggests, Flight 7 will be the seventh test flight of Starship by SpaceX. Starship is designed to be a completely reusable launch system for missions to Earth orbit, the moon, Mars, and beyond. NASA has chosen Starship to land its Artemis 3 astronauts on the moon in 2027, while SpaceX founder Elon Musk aims to launch an uncrewed version of Starship to Mars as soon as 2026.
During the upcoming flight on Jan. 13, SpaceX will be testing various upgrades to the Starship spacecraft, including enhancements to its flight computer, avionics, and heat shield. The spacecraft will also be carrying a set of simulated Starlink internet satellites, which SpaceX plans to deploy in space during the 66-minute flight.
The Starship on Flight 7 is equipped with smaller forward flaps that have been repositioned away from its heat shield to reduce exposure to excessive heat during reentry, as mentioned in the mission description by SpaceX. SpaceX is also reusing an engine on the rocket’s 33-engine Super Heavy first stage for the first time.
“The upcoming flight test will launch a new-generation ship with significant upgrades, attempt Starship’s first payload deployment test, fly multiple reentry experiments geared towards ship catch and reuse, and launch and return the Super Heavy booster,” SpaceX stated in the mission overview.
If everything goes according to plan, the Super Heavy stage of the Flight 7 Starship will return to Earth to be caught by large metal “chopstick” arms at its launch pad at Starbase. SpaceX successfully demonstrated this rocket catch in October during its Flight 5 test flight but aborted an attempted catch a month later during the Flight 6 launch.
SpaceX officials have stated that they will proceed with the Flight 7 Super Heavy catch only if the rocket and its launch tower meet critical criteria for a safe catch. If these criteria are not met, the Super Heavy will automatically default to a soft landing and splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico, as it did during Flight 6.
“We do not compromise when it comes to ensuring public and team safety, and the return will only happen if conditions are right,” SpaceX officials noted in the mission overview.
