SpaceX has moved the latest version of its Starship rocket to the launchpad ahead of new tests for the Mars-bound craft.
Starship’s Super Heavy booster, which forms the first stage of the world’s biggest rocket, was rolled out less than two weeks after SpaceX’s last successful test flight that saw the rocket caught by the launch tower’s “chopsticks” for the first time.
The rapid test schedule forms part of SpaceX’s goal of demonstrating a “significant number” of successful Starship launches in order to ready it for the first crewed missions.
These are currently scheduled to take place in September 2026 as part of Nasa’s Artemis program to return astronauts to the surface of the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years.
“Flight 6 Super Heavy booster moved to the Starbase pad for testing,” SpaceX posted on X, together with images of the rocket. “The move comes just one week after returning the first booster caught following launch.”
Flight 6 Super Heavy booster moved to the Starbase pad for testing. The move comes just one week after returning the first booster caught following launch pic.twitter.com/iwmqCeF3tE
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) October 22, 2024
The mission objectives for Flight 6 are expected to be similar to Flight 5, with an emphasis on catching the Super Heavy booster with more accuracy.
A similar flight profile to the previous launch will likely mean that it will be easier for SpaceX to obtain the necessary licences from regulators. Previous delays from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have resulted from major new objectives added to flight tests in order to advance Starship’s development.
“Every flight of Starship has made tremendous progress and accomplished increasingly difficult test objectives, making the entire system more capable and more reliable,” SpaceX explains on its website.
“Our approach of putting flight hardware in the flight environment as often as possible maximises the pace at which we can learn recursively and operationalise the system... Despite a small, but vocal, minority of detractors trying to game the regulatory system to obstruct and delay the development of Starship, SpaceX remains committed to the mission at hand.”
SpaceX has not yet announced a date for the next Starship test flight, and will not typically confirm an attempt until it is within a day or two of being ready.
