Updated at 10 a.m. ET: SpaceX successfully launched its Starship Flight 4 test flight of the Starship and Super Heavy vehicles, the largest and most powerful rocket in the world. Watch stunning videos and photos of the launch and landing in our wraparound story.
SpaceX plans to launch its giant Starship rocket this morning (June 6), and you can watch the event live.
Starship, the largest and most powerful rocket ever built, is scheduled to launch from SpaceX’s Starbase site in south Texas today, during a 100-minute window that opens at 8:50 a.m. EST (1250 GMT; 7:50 a.m. TX local time).
You can watch the event live Here at Space.comOr via your SpaceX account on X, starting about 30 minutes before liftoff.
Related: Enjoy SpaceX Starship’s third flight experience in stunning images
Updated June 6, 7 a.m. ET: SpaceX has a new launch time for Starship Flight 4 today. The launch is now scheduled to take place 8:50 a.m. EST (1250 GMT).
Today’s launch will begin the fourth test flight of the 400-foot (122-meter) spacecraft, which consists of a first-stage booster called Super Heavy and an upper-stage spacecraft known as Starship, or simply “Ship.” “.
The first three Starship missions launched from Starbase in April 2023, November 2023, and March of this year; The first flight ended just four minutes after liftoff because the Starship’s two stages failed to separate as planned, and SpaceX ordered a controlled detonation.
The spacecraft achieved separation phase in the second flight, which lasted about eight minutes. Flight 3 saw an even bigger jump in performance; It ended about 50 minutes after launch with the ship disintegrating as it reentered the Earth’s atmosphere.
The ship was trying to land in the Indian Ocean on Flight 3. That was the goal on Flight 4 as well. Meanwhile, the Super Heavy’s target destination will be the Gulf of Mexico, not far from Starbase.
SpaceX views the fully reusable spacecraft as a revolutionary advance in spaceflight and exploration. If all goes according to plan, the rover will allow humanity to spread its mark on the Moon, Mars and beyond.
NASA is a believer in the spacecraft. The agency chose the giant rocket to be the first manned landing vehicle for the Artemis program, which aims to establish a lunar base by the end of the 2020s. The first Artemis Starship mission will be Artemis 3 in September 2026, which, according to the program’s current architecture, is expected to land NASA astronauts near the Moon’s south pole.
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