Upgraded SpaceX Starship flying Wednesday: How to see the thrills!
They’re going for it again!
The SpaceX Starship – the world’s most powerful rocket – will fly again as soon as Wednesday, March 5. A test launch was scrubbed on Monday, March 3, 2025. And SpaceX announced the following morning that a new launch window would open at 5:30 pm CT (23:30 UTC) on Wednesday.
It will be the 8th time the company has flown its super-heavy craft and, as always, excitement is guaranteed. The test flight will try to achieve some of the goals the craft failed to accomplish on its explosive 7th trip. The launch broadcast will start about 40 minutes before liftoff.
Here’s what SpaceX said to expect:
The upcoming flight will fly the same suborbital trajectory as previous missions and will target objectives not reached on the previous test, including Starship’s first payload deployment and multiple reentry experiments geared toward returning the upper stage to the launch site for catch. The flight also includes the launch, return and catch of the Super Heavy booster.
As during previous test launches, the upper stage is targeting a landing in the Indian Ocean. Flight controllers will try another midair snatch of the main booster back at the Boca Chica, Texas, launch site. If conditions don’t allow that, the booster will splash down in the Gulf of Mexico.
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Seventh SpaceX Starship shook itself apart in orbit
Following the fiery demise of the upper stage during the last test, SpaceX found a “harmonic response” stronger than occurred in ground testing. It was more than the ship could take. SpaceX said:
After vehicle separation, Starship’s six second-stage Raptor engines powered the vehicle along its expected trajectory. Approximately two minutes into its burn, a flash was observed in the aft section of the vehicle near one of the Raptor vacuum engines.
The aft area – known as “the attic” – couldn’t stand the pressure:
Roughly two minutes later, another flash was observed followed by sustained fires in the attic. These eventually caused all but one of Starship’s engines to execute controlled shut down sequences and ultimately led to a loss of communication with the ship.
The craft then burned on reentry.
Another fiery end for the SpaceX Starship in store?
There’s a good chance this Starship won’t be coming home, either. SpaceX will be pushing the envelope … as usual. During a previous flight, the upper stage’s guide fins nearly burned off as it reentered the atmosphere.
This time, SpaceX said it’s going try to rip them off on purpose:
Starship’s reentry profile is designed to intentionally stress the structural limits of the upper stage’s rear flaps while at the point of maximum entry dynamic pressure.
And if that doesn’t kill the ship, maybe SpaceX can get Starship’s heat shielding to fail:
A significant number of tiles have been removed from Starship to stress-test vulnerable areas across the vehicle. Multiple metallic tile options, including one with active cooling, will test alternative materials for protecting Starship during reentry.
A range of upgrades has been added for the flight. Some of the improvements are onboard the craft, and others are back at the launch site. A full description of what mission controllers hope to achieve is available in the test flight profile.
