SpaceX set for seventh test of Starship megarocket

Elon Musk's SpaceX is gearing up for the seventh orbital flight test of Starship, the colossal prototype rocket the company hopes will help humans colonize Mars.

A launch window from the company's Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, opens at 4:00 pm (2200 GMT) Wednesday and will be carried in a live webcast on Musk's X platform.

Space enthusiasts will be eager to see if SpaceX can replicate the stunning feat of catching the first-stage Super Heavy booster in the launch tower's "chopstick" arms during descent, approximately seven minutes after liftoff.

The maneuver was successfully achieved in October but not during the following flight in November, when President-elect Donald Trump joined Musk to witness the test from mission control.

Instead, Super Heavy made a more subdued splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico.

This time around, SpaceX announced it had implemented "hardware upgrades to the launch and catch tower to increase reliability for booster catch," including enhancements to sensor protections on the chopsticks that were damaged during the launch, causing the booster's offshore diversion.

Starship has also undergone several design refinements. Its latest iteration now stands at 403 feet (123 meters) tall, slightly taller than previous versions and roughly 100 feet higher than the Statue of Liberty.

Upgrades include a redesigned upper-stage propulsion system capable of carrying 25 percent more propellant, along with modifications to the forward flaps. The flaps have been reduced in size and repositioned to reduce their exposure to intense heat during atmospheric reentry.

For the first time, Starship will deploy a payload: 10 Starlink simulators, comparable in size and weight to the company's internet satellites. Both the simulators and Starship's upper stage are set to splash down in the Indian Ocean about an hour after launch.

Betting on Starship

SpaceX already dominates the orbital launch market with its Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets, which serve commercial clients, NASA and the Pentagon.

But the company has made it clear it sees Starship as its future, with Chief Operating Officer Gwynne Shotwell recently indicating it would succeed the Falcon rockets around the turn of the next decade.

Designed to be fully reusable, Starship's test flights currently cost around $90 million, according to analytical group Payload Research, though Musk has expressed confidence in eventually reducing that figure to as low as $10 million per launch.

The first three test flights ended in dramatic explosions, resulting in the loss of vehicles. However, SpaceX has rapidly iterated on its design, reflecting its "fail fast, learn fast" philosophy.

Musk is aiming to drastically ramp up the frequency of tests, requesting permission from the Federal Aviation Administration to carry out 25 in 2025.

The FAA is currently holding public meetings over the issue. Critics have accused the company of causing environmental harms, including disruption to nearby ecologically sensitive areas and alleged violations of wastewater regulations at the launch site.

But with Musk now part of Trump's inner circle, the billionaire could find a more favorable regulatory landscape under the incoming administration.

© Agence France-Presse