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The company’s powerful rocket is set to lift off from Texas Monday night, closing out a year of major test flights.
WASHINGTON — SpaceX is preparing for its final Starship launch of the year Monday night, as the company continues testing the powerful rocket system designed to carry astronauts to the moon and, eventually, Mars.
The launch window for Starship’s 11th test flight opens at 7:15 p.m. ET on Monday, Oct. 13, from SpaceX’s Starbase facility in South Texas. The facility, which doubles as SpaceX headquarters, was recently approved to become its own city in May.
Starship is the world’s largest and most powerful rocket, standing 403 feet tall when fully stacked. It consists of a 232-foot Super Heavy rocket booster and a 171-foot upper-stage spacecraft, both powered by six of SpaceX’s Raptor engines.
The vehicle had its most successful 2025 test flight in August, when the upper stage reached space, deployed mock Starlink satellites and made a controlled ocean landing attempt in the Indian Ocean. The Super Heavy booster also completed in-flight tests before landing in the Gulf of Mexico. No crew members were aboard the demo launch.
The successful demo came after a year of mishaps. Back-to-back tests in January and March ended just minutes after liftoff, raining wreckage into the ocean. The ninth try, in May, ended when the spacecraft tumbled out of control and broke apart.
How to watch the Starship launch
SpaceX will livestream the launch starting about 30 minutes before liftoff, 6:45 p.m. ET, on its website, X and SpaceX’s new X TV app.
During Monday’s flight, SpaceX plans to collect data to improve the Super Heavy rocket booster and stress-test the upper stage’s heat shield. The company also plans to test mid-flight maneuvers, with both sections expected to make water landings again.
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