SpaceX attempts third Starship launch
UPDATE: SpaceX announced it is aiming to launch at 8:25 a.m. CT. A livestream of the launch will be available in this article.
BOCA CHICA, Texas (ValleyCentral) — SpaceX announced it aims to launch its third Starship Thursday morning.
The third test flight is targeted for Thursday morning, with a 110-minute test window opening at 7 a.m., SpaceX announced in a news release.
Just before 7:30 a.m., SpaceX announced its target liftoff time is 8:25 a.m. CT.
"The Starship team is go for prop load but keeping an eye on winds," it announced on X.
"The third flight test aims to build on what we’ve learned from previous flights while attempting a number of ambitious objectives, including the successful ascent burn of both stages, opening and closing Starship’s payload door, a propellant transfer demonstration during the upper stage’s coast phase, the first ever re-light of a Raptor engine while in space, and a controlled reentry of Starship," the release stated.
Additionally, SpaceX announced the third test flight will feature a new trajectory, with a targeted splashdown in the Indian Ocean. The new flight path will allow for the testing of new techniques, like in-space engine burns, while maximizing public safety.
The 397-foot tall rocket, which consists of the Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy booster, represent a transportation system designed to get humans to the moon, Mars and beyond, according to SpaceX.
The third launch will come weeks after the FAA concluded its investigation into the second launch of Starship, which exploded over the Gulf of Mexico.
Watch the first and second Starship launches in the video player below.
A livestream of the SpaceX launch will be included in this article.