It feels like SpaceX’s Starship development has been in a bit of a holding pattern as of late.
The company’s most recent launch in July, which was its thirteenth full-scale test in almost three and a half years, saw the spacecraft successfully deploy 20 operational satellites. But only ten out of its Super Heavy booster’s 13 Raptor engines relit during its landing, causing it to make a hard impact and explode.
Now the space company is looking to finally stick the landing. This coming Monday, the company is planning to launch its fourteenth test flight, “pending regulatory approval.” The plan is to have Starship circle the Earth a full six times over ten hours at an altitude of 171 miles before lightly touching down.
It’s almost certainly the biggest test of the launch platform yet, and arguably the most important launch in the company’s history. Proving its orbital flight capabilities is mission critical if SpaceX ever wants Starship to deliver satellites at a regular cadence. It’s also a key aspect of NASA’s planned Artemis 3 mission, which is currently slated for 2027, a key stepping stone in the space agency’s ambitions to return astronauts to the lunar surface.
