SpaceX prepares for 10th test launch of massive Starship rocket

SpaceX is getting ready for the 10th test launch of its massive Starship rocket, the largest type of rocket ever built.

The planned launch, from a SpaceX facility near Boca Chica Beach in Texas, is scheduled to occur during a one-hour window that opens at 7:30 pm ET. The company says it will start a live webcast about 30 minutes before takeoff.

SpaceX wants to put the two-stage rocket’s massive booster through its paces, testing out a series of burns and having it hover over the Gulf of Mexico before ending its flight by dropping down into the water. The rocket’s upper stage, or section, will go on a suborbital flight that will involve an attempt to deploy simulated satellites.

This flight test comes after the multibillion-dollar Starship program has suffered a streak of failures this year. The last flight, in May, saw the rocket lose control. In June, a preflight engine test resulted in a rocket exploding on the launch pad, sending up a dramatic fireball.

The expensive rocket losses are adding up, but SpaceX founder Elon Musk has taken a publicly sanguine stance, posting on social media that “Success is uncertain, but entertainment is guaranteed!”

Still, getting Starship to work is important for both NASA and SpaceX. NASA is depending on Starship to be the vehicle that lands astronauts on the moon for the first time since 1972, and had been hoping to use it for that purpose as soon as 2027.

Musk founded SpaceX with the goal of making humanity a multi-planetary species. He wants Starship to be able to take people to Mars so that they can colonize the red planet. Closer to home, he also wants to use Starship to deploy Starlink satellites.

He and SpaceX are no strangers to having to weather a run of bad test flights when developing a new rocket. SpaceX’s very first rocket, the Falcon 1, suffered three failed launch attempts before finally reaching orbit in 2008.

And even as Starship struggles, SpaceX continues its everyday work in supporting NASA’s missions to the International Space Station. Earlier on Sunday, a robotic SpaceX capsule carrying food and other supplies for the station astronauts successfully lifted off on one of the company’s workhorse Falcon 9 rockets.