SpaceX is set to conduct a test flight of the most powerful launch vehicle ever constructed, just weeks after the company amazed the world with a successful precision landing of a massive rocket booster.
The company will attempt once again to guide the booster back into the mechanical “chopsticks” of a launch tower, a maneuver it has previously attempted.
The nearly 400-foot (121-meter) rocket is expected to lift off as early as November 19 from SpaceX’s Starbase facility near Brownsville, Texas.
This two-stage megarocket, featuring the Starship spacecraft atop the Super Heavy booster, will attempt liftoff within a 30-minute window beginning at 5 p.m. ET on Tuesday.
SpaceX plans to live stream the event via its X account, with a note that the timing may shift.
US President-elect Donald Trump is expected to attend, along with SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, highlighting Musk’s growing involvement in Trump’s circle.
The goal of these test flights is to refine SpaceX’s ability to recover and reuse Super Heavy boosters and Starship spacecraft quickly, a crucial step in reducing the time and cost of space travel. SpaceX envisions this system for missions that could ferry astronauts to the moon, with a planned lunar landing as early as 2026.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which oversees commercial rocket launches, confirmed it did not need to conduct a lengthy review for the launch license amendment, as this test flight’s trajectory closely mirrors a previous one.
“The FAA determined SpaceX met all safety, environmental, and other licensing requirements for the suborbital test flight,” the agency stated. “The requested changes are within the scope of what has been previously analyzed.”
SpaceX’s fourth integrated Starship test flight on October 13 captured global attention with the company’s attempt to maneuver the Super Heavy booster back to its massive landing structure. The Super Heavy was successfully caught mid-air by a pair of giant “chopsticks.”
“This flight was a significant step toward achieving a fully reusable launch system,” SpaceX said in a statement.
