Coming off a successful flight test in August, SpaceX will try to continue Starship‘s redemption story with its next launch.
This time, Elon Musk‘s space company will attempt a new landing strategy for the booster and a more aggressive test of the ship’s heat shield, which protects it from the extreme heat while reentering Earth’s atmosphere. The last phase of the flight will also incorporate a new banking maneuver.
The upcoming Flight 11 test could happen as early as 6:15 p.m. CT on Monday from Starbase, Texas, SpaceX’s headquarters, which is also now an official city. Starship’s hourlong flight is expected to conclude with a splashdown in the Indian Ocean. Whether it can achieve that unscathed remains to be seen. SpaceX suffered a string of failures and mishaps earlier this year, including an explosion on the test stand in June.
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