SpaceX has transported its latest Starship spacecraft to the launch pad for testing in preparation for the megarocket’s forthcoming 11th test flight. The company shared this significant milestone today (Sept. 17) via X, along with three photographs showcasing the gleaming silver Starship upper stage. In one of the images, the 171-foot-tall (52-meter-tall) spacecraft — referred to as Starship, or simply “Ship” — is seen rolling down a road at SpaceX’s Starbase facility in South Texas during the night. The other two images depict Ship at the launch pad, securely held by the launch tower’s “chopstick” arms. The anticipated next steps include pressurization and engine tests, which will confirm Ship’s readiness for flight. Similar preparatory work will also be conducted with Super Heavy, the massive booster that constitutes the lower half of the fully reusable, stainless-steel Starship. The upcoming test flight, for which a target date has yet to be disclosed, will mark the 11th for Starship.
Flight 10, which took off on Aug. 26, was deemed a complete success by SpaceX; both Super Heavy and Ship successfully reached their splashdown targets (Super Heavy in the Gulf of Mexico and Ship in the Indian Ocean), and the upper stage deployed eight dummy versions of SpaceX’s Starlink satellites — a first for a Starship flight. This marked a welcome recovery for SpaceX, which had experienced the premature loss of Ship during the previous three test launches. Flight 11 is expected to be the final mission for Starship Version 2, as stated by SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk. Following this, the company will transition to testing Version 3 of the vehicle, which will measure approximately 408 feet (124.4 meters) tall — about 10 feet (3 m) taller than Version 2. If the testing and development of Version 3 proceed successfully, a small, uncrewed fleet of these vehicles could potentially launch towards Mars as early as next year, according to Musk. This would represent a significant advancement towards realizing his, and SpaceX’s, primary long-term objective — facilitating humanity’s settlement of the Red Planet.
