Image: SpaceX
SpaceX is preparing to launch its 11th Starship test flight later today, with the launch window set to open at 4:15 p.m. PT/7:15 p.m. ET. A live webcast will begin about 30 minutes before liftoff on SpaceX’s website, its X account, and the X TV app. As with previous developmental flights, today’s schedule is subject to change due to weather or last-minute technical checks with the Starship vehicle or its Super Heavy booster.
The eleventh test flight builds on the success of August’s Flight 10, which saw SpaceX nail its first Starlink simulator deployment and all other planned objectives. For Flight 11, the company will once again fly the current Starship V2 design, with the Super Heavy booster performing a series of complex landing burn maneuvers to gather data for the upcoming next-generation variant.
The booster, which previously launched Flight 8, will lift off powered by 24 Raptor engines and attempt a new landing configuration. It will ignite 13 engines to begin the landing burn before transitioning to five engines for the divert phase — up from three previously — allowing for more precise control and engine redundancy. Finally, it will use three central engines to enter a brief hover before splashing down in the Gulf of America.
Meanwhile, the Starship upper stage will carry out several in-space experiments, including the deployment of eight Starlink simulators, a Raptor engine relight in orbit, and reentry tests designed to stress its heatshield. Some heatshield tiles have been intentionally removed to test how the vehicle’s structure reacts to high-temperature exposure.
The final portion of the flight will feature a dynamic banking maneuver and subsonic guidance testing before splashdown in the Indian Ocean — key steps toward enabling future Starship vehicles to return to Starbase.
Today’s launch also follows SpaceX’s announcement over the weekend that it plans to begin commercial Starship cargo missions to the Moon in 2028 and to Mars in 2030.
Elon Musk has said that the next-generation Starship V3 design could debut in the coming months, entering “heavy flight activity” in 2026 as SpaceX ramps up toward in-orbit refueling, payload deliveries, and the first-ever attempt to catch a returning Starship upper stage. Musk has also projected that Starship’s operational rollout could enable SpaceX to deliver more than 95% of Earth’s payload to orbit.
Stay tuned for updates on Starship Flight, and follow along on SpaceX’s live stream when it kicks off later today.
