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Starship Is About to Attempt Something It’s Never Done in 13 Flights

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Starship Is About to Attempt Something It’s Never Done in 13 Flights

SpaceX’s Starship is on the cusp of a major milestone as the company prepares to send the megarocket into orbit for the first time.

The launch window will open at 8:15 a.m. ET on Monday, September 28, and will remain open for 75 minutes. Yesterday, SpaceX shared photos of Starship fully stacked on the launch pad at Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, and confirmed that it is on track for a Monday launch, pending regulatory approval. Engineers will conduct a wet dress rehearsal today, which allows them to practice fueling and countdown procedures and identify any technical issues ahead of launch.

Orbital flight will mark a turning point for Starship. This is a key hurdle the rocket must clear before it can demonstrate full, rapid reusability and commercial viability. All previous test flights have flown suborbital trajectories, but this time, Starship will aim to fly at an altitude of 171 miles (275 kilometers) above Earth and remain in orbit for 10 hours, circling the planet about six times before splashing down off the coast of Chile.

If all goes according to plan, the Super Heavy booster will ignite its engines at T-0 and blast Starship skyward. About two minutes after liftoff, the booster will separate from Starship and perform a flip maneuver followed by a boostback burn so that it can reenter Earth’s atmosphere for a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico.

After stage separation and flip during the last test flight, the Super Heavy booster managed to use all 33 of its Raptor engines for the boostback burn for the first time.


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