The world’s most powerful rocket is about to undergo its next test flight.
SpaceX seventh launch starship The giant rocket is expected to appear in the next month or so. after the recent static fire Building on the vehicle’s massive Super Heavy first-stage booster, the company has prepared the Starship upper stage for its own tests.
“Starship is ready for testing ahead of Flight 7” Space Exploration Technologies Corporation say in one Post on X On Wednesday (December 11), a photo was shared of the Starship vehicle moving to a test bed at the company’s Starbase facility in South Texas.
SpaceX has not yet announced a date for its upcoming Integrated Flight Test (IFT), but NASA sent an email to the FAA Confirmed on January 11thas a possible target.
When the Starship upper stage is stacked on top of Super Heavy, the integrated vehicle reaches a height of nearly 400 feet (122 meters) — taller than any other rocket built to date. The upper stage is called the “Ship”, itself 165 feet (50 m) high.
Starship is the first ever fully reusable launch vehicle; both Super Heavy and Spaceship are designed to return to the launch site and be caught in mid-air by the “chopstick arms” of the Starship launch tower.
SpaceX made its first attempt to capture Super Heavy during the IFT-5 launch in October. That attempt was successful; chopsticks creates a perfect obstacle Returning booster.
The company hopes to conduct another booster capture on IFT-6, which Flight 19th November. But communications problems with the tower derailed the attempt, and the superheavy aircraft was rerouted for a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico.
IFT-7 will be SpaceX’s first Starship launch in 2025.
As Starship obtains operational qualifications, the number of Starship launches is expected to increase again in 2025. Both SpaceX and NASA are eager for Starship’s success, as the space agency has tapped SpaceX’s new launch vehicle for its upcoming lunar lander artemis 3 The mission to land astronauts on the moon.