News: Watch SpaceX launch the fourth test flight of its Starship super rocket today
Update 9 a.m. ET: SpaceX has successfully completed the Starship Flight 4 test flight of Starship and Super Heavy, the world’s largest and most powerful rocket. Shortly after launch, the Super Heavy booster performed an apparently successful “soft landing” in the Gulf of Mexico with a controlled descent. The Starship vehicle is in a 28-minute coastal phase before turning back and splashing down in the Indian Ocean.
SpaceX plans to launch the massive Starship rocket this morning (June 6), and you can watch the action live.
You can watch the event live here on Space.com or via SpaceX’s account on X, starting about 30 minutes before liftoff.
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 Starship’s two stages failed to separate as planned, and SpaceX ordered a controlled explosion.
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Flight 3 saw an even bigger leap in performance; it ended about 50 minutes after launch with the Ship breaking up as it reentered Earth’s atmosphere.
The ship is attempting to enter the Indian Ocean on Flight 3, which is also the goal of Flight 4. Meanwhile, Super Heavy’s target destination will be the Gulf of Mexico, not far from Starbase.
SpaceX sees the fully reusable Starship as a revolutionary step forward in space travel and exploration. If all goes according to plan, the vehicle will allow humanity to expand its footprint to the moon, Mars and beyond.
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NASA is a big believer in Starship. The agency has chosen the giant rocket as the first crewed lander for its Artemis program, which aims to establish a base on the moon by the late 2020s. The first Artemis Starship mission will be Artemis 3 in September 2026, which, under the program’s current structure, is expected to land NASA astronauts near the lunar south pole.
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