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Space
Space
Science
Josh Dinner

SpaceX fuels up Starship megarocket in key test ahead of 6th test flight (photos)

A giant chrome rocket stands next to a tall launch tower, with sections frosted white from internal fueling. A blue sky hangs above with an ocean painted across the horizon, the marsh beach surrounding the launchpad.

The largest, most powerful rocket ever built is about to launch on its sixth test flight. SpaceX's Starship upper stage and Super Heavy booster are stacked next to the launch tower at the company's Starbase launch and test facility in southern Texas ahead of the vehicle's next mission, which is scheduled for tomorrow evening (Nov. 19).

SpaceX is targeting a 30-minute window for Tuesday's launch, designated Integrated Test Flight-6 (IFT-6), beginning at 5 p.m. EST (2200 GMT). (You'll be able to watch the Flight 6 Starship launch live online.) It will be the sixth launch of the Starship-Super Heavy stack, and the second time SpaceX aims to catch the rocket booster mid-air during the stage's deceleration landing burn. The first such effort came just over a month ago, on Oct. 13, when SpaceX launched Starship IFT-5, and succeeded in catching Super Heavy using the launch tower's "chopstick" arms.

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