SpaceX is preparing to send its massive Starship megarocket back into space in about two weeks. In its latest statement, the company announced that it aims to complete Starship’s 11th flight on October 13th. This launch will be the final flight of the vehicle’s current “Version 2” iteration, with the 12th flight transitioning to Version 3.
Starship megarocket to be launched again
The launch will take place from the SpaceX Starbase facility in southern Texas. The launch window on October 13th opens at 2:15 a.m. Turkish time. SpaceX will broadcast the launch live, with coverage beginning 30 minutes before liftoff.
Starship is being developed to meet SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk’s goal of human settlement on Mars. The rocket consists of two fully reusable stages: the first stage, Super Heavy, and the upper stage, Starship (Ship).
Version 2 is the largest and most powerful rocket ever built. This rocket, which reached a full altitude of approximately 121 meters, will be launched with this iteration for the final time. The 12th flight will transition to Version 3, which will reach 124.4 meters. Version 4, which the company plans to unveil in 2027, is expected to reach a height of around 142 meters.
Starship’s 11th flight will closely resemble the objectives of the previous flight, which took place in August. During the August flight, Super Heavy landed in the Gulf of Mexico as planned, while Ship touched down in the Indian Ocean off the west coast of Australia.
According to SpaceX’s announcement, the same landing zones will be targeted for the 11th flight, and Ship will again carry eight dummy Starlink satellites. As with the previous flight, some of the heat shield plates on Ship will be removed, intentionally testing vulnerable areas of the vehicle.
Super Heavy will use five of the 33 Raptor engines during its descent, instead of the usual three. This five-engine landing will be the basis for Version 3. This flight will be the second for this Super Heavy engine. The rocket successfully completed its eighth flight in March and was caught mid-air by the launch tower booms on its return to Starbase.
