SpaceX Launches Starship Flight 11 Megarocket Test Today

SpaceX Launches Starship Flight 11 Megarocket Test Today at 7:15 PM EDT

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SpaceX is set to launch its Starship Flight 11 megarocket today, October 13, at 7:15 p.m. EDT (2315 GMT). The launch will occur from SpaceX’s Starbase facility in South Texas, with live coverage available approximately 30 minutes prior to liftoff.

Starship, the largest and most powerful rocket ever constructed, consists of two main components: the Super Heavy first-stage booster and the upper-stage spacecraft known as Starship. Both elements are designed for rapid and complete reusability.

The upcoming Flight 11 aims to replicate the successes of the previous Flight 10, which launched on August 26. During that flight, Super Heavy successfully splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico, while Starship completed its mission in the Indian Ocean, including relighting one of its engines in space and deploying eight dummy Starlink satellites.

For Flight 11, SpaceX plans to test a new engine configuration for the Super Heavy booster and gather data to facilitate Starship’s return to Starbase, where it will be caught by the launch tower’s “chopstick” arms. This booster has previously flown on three test missions.

As part of the mission, SpaceX will intentionally remove certain heat shield tiles from Starship to stress-test vulnerable areas. The final phase of the flight will include a dynamic banking maneuver to test guidance algorithms before a planned splashdown in the Indian Ocean.

Viewers can watch the launch live on Space.com, where coverage will begin shortly before the scheduled liftoff. This test flight is a significant step in SpaceX’s ongoing efforts to advance space exploration and eventual missions to Mars.

Sources:
Space
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