SpaceX’s next Starship test flight will be the most ambitious to date, and the first involving a new “block 2” version with a host of design updates.

What is Starship?

Starship is the most powerful rocket ever to fly. SpaceX aims to develop it into a rapidly reusable vehicle that can take large payloads into orbit, land back on Earth and launch another mission within hours.

Somewhat confusingly, Starship is the name given to both the entire spacecraft, consisting of a Super Heavy booster and the ship it launches stacked together, and ship alone once it has detached from the booster.

SpaceX has been rapidly iterating both Super Heavy and Starship, taking a Silicon Valley approach to design that sees regular tests and dramatic failures as simply part of the process. But this will be the first test of the so-called block 2 Starship upper stage.

What’s new in Starship block 2?

The company says on its website that Starship’s electronics have undergone a “complete redesign” and there are now more than 30 cameras on board. It will also have 25 per cent more propellant, stand 3.1 metres taller and have relocated front flaps.

It also includes, for the first time, an early version of the pins necessary for it to be caught by a ground tower and reused. However, SpaceX currently has only one tower, which will be used to catch the booster, so there will be no attempt to catch Starship for reuse this time. A second tower is under construction.

What will the test flight entail?

SpaceX hopes the upper stage will reach space, complete a partial orbit of Earth, safely re-enter the atmosphere and make a controlled splashdown into the Indian Ocean. The Super Heavy first stage should return to the launch site and be caught by the Mechazilla or “chopstick” arms of the launch tower – which will be the second catch if successful.

The launch marks a milestone for SpaceX as Starship hardware will be reused for the first time. One of the Super Heavy’s 33 Raptor engines was previously used in Starship’s fifth test flight. That was the only test to date where the booster was safely returned, so this is the first opportunity the company has had to reuse anything.

Another first will be Starship’s deployment of 10 fake Starlink satellites. These simulated satellites will be similar in size and weight to the company’s upcoming third generation of internet-beaming hardware, and will test the ability of Starship to carry payloads to orbit and safely launch them. No previous Starship flight has carried a payload, unless you count the toy banana carried on flight 6.

Numerous other small tests will be carried out during the seventh flight to provide valuable data to engineers. One of Starship’s Raptor engines will be relit in space, for example, and several heat-resistant tiles have been removed as a test. Several types of new heat tile, including one with active cooling, are also being tested.

When will the launch take place?

SpaceX has not officially named a launch date, but the company’s controversial owner Elon Musk has pointed to a target of 10 January in a tweet.

According to several NOTAM (Notices to Airmen – a warning to pilots of unusual or potentially dangerous activity) published by the US Federal Aviation Administration, the launch window granted to the company begins at 4pm Central Standard Time (10pm UK time) on 10 January.

The launch window runs until 16 January, giving the company some leeway should the launch be postponed, either due to engineering problems or unfavourable weather.

As with all other Starship launches, flight 7 will lift off from SpaceX’s site at Boca Chica, Texas, and will also be live-streamed online.

What happened during previous Starship launches?

Test flight 1 on 20 April 2023 saw three of the booster stage’s 33 engines fail to ignite. The rocket later span out of control and self-destructed.

The second test flight on 18 November 2023 got further, gaining enough altitude that the booster and upper stages separated as planned. The booster stage ultimately exploded before reaching ground level and the upper stage self-destructed, although not before successfully reaching space.

Test flight 3 on 14 March 2024 was at least a partial success, as the upper stage reached space once more, but it failed to return to ground level intact.

The next flight, on 6 June, saw the upper stage reach an altitude of more than 200 kilometres and travel at over 27,000 kilometres per hour. Both the booster and the upper stage completed soft splashdowns in the ocean.

Test flight 5 saw the Super Heavy booster drop back to the launch pad and safely land on SpaceX’s launch tower, called Mechazilla, cradled by a pair of “chopsticks”.

Test flight 6 saw Starship successfully reach an altitude of 228 kilometres, before splashing down in the Indian Ocean. Super Heavy aborted its attempt to land at the launch tower because of a communications fault and instead made a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico.

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