SpaceX’s massive Starship is set for its latest test flight today [October 13th], its eleventh, in the early evening Texas (CT) time. The mega-rocket is listed to launch at 7:15pm EDT (23.15 GMT) subject to the usual weather and last-minute technical considerations.

Flight 11 will be the fifth Starship launch this year. SpaceX hopes to build on the success of Flight 10, which launched on August 26th and achieved all of its major objectives. (Flight 7, Flight 8 and Flight 9, which also launched this year, were more problematic. SpaceX lost the Starship upper stage on each of them.)

Elon Musk has ambitions way beyond the launch of this huge rocket. Its success is vital in his longer-term plan to get to the Moon and then Mars. SpaceX intends to settle Mars using Starship, and NASA is backing the rocket as the first crewed lander for its Artemis programme of Moon exploration.

SpaceX intends to begin Moon and Mars surface cargo missions in 2028 and 2030, respectively – each at $100 million per metric ton or $100,000 per kg.

But the 400-foot-tall (121-meter-tall) Starship — the biggest and most powerful rocket ever built — is still in the testing phase, and the company hopes last minute action will get it closer to the finish line.

SpaceX has advised that in the event of a cancellation it will attempt launches on the following day.

Other posts by :

1. D2D satellite battle hots up
2. Eutelsat share price rockets
3. AST SpaceMobile recovers after Verizon agreement
4. Bank has mixed messages for AST SpaceMobile
5. EchoStar clears key regulatory hurdles for Starlink deal
6. Starlinks falling to Earth every day
7. 650 Starlink D2C craft in orbit
8. Bank upgrades SES to ‘Buy’
9. Eutelsat shareholders reach agreement at AGM

Categories: Articles, Satellite

Tags: elon musk, starship, texas