SpaceX Attempts Second Booster Catch During Latest Starship Test Launch

Update: January 16, 10:43 a.m. ET: With improved weather conditions at Boca Chica, SpaceX is gearing up for another attempt to launch Starship on its seventh test mission. The 60-minute launch window opens at 5:00 p.m. ET.

Update: January 15, 1:14 p.m. ET: Bad weather has forced a scrub of today’s launch. SpaceX is now targeting Thursday, January 16, with the 60-minute launch window opening at 5:00 p.m. ET.

Original article follows.

SpaceX is gearing up for a Starship launch unlike any other. On its seventh launch from the Texas site, the rocket will attempt to deploy Starlink simulators and test significant hardware upgrades.

Starship is scheduled for liftoff on Wednesday, January 15, during a 60-minute launch window that opens at 5 p.m. ET. The biggest rocket ever built will launch from SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas. A livestream of Starship’s seventh test flight will begin around 35 minutes ahead of launch time, and you can tune in through SpaceX’s website or through the company’s profile on X. You can also watch third party coverage at the live feeds shown below.

Although Starship’s initial test flights got off to a rough start, SpaceX has enjoyed some success with the last few launches of its revolutionary megarocket. In October 2024, Starship launched for a groundbreaking fifth test flight that saw the rocket’s Super Heavy 232-foot-tall (71 meters) booster being caught mid-air by the giant Mechazilla tower, as it’s nicknamed. The rocket’s most recent test flight took place on November 20, 2024, and although SpaceX opted out of performing a booster catch, Starship performed nominally during its suborbital launch. For this seventh launch, SpaceX will attempt its second successful catch of the enormous booster.

This time around, SpaceX plans on launching a “new generation ship with significant upgrades,” the company wrote in a statement. During Wednesday’s launch, SpaceX will attempt Starship’s first payload deployment test. For this test, the rocket will deploy 10 Starlink simulators, which will be similar in size and weight to the company’s next-generation satellites. The simulators, however, will not remain in orbit, but are designed to reenter on a similar suborbital trajectory as the rocket itself.

For its seventh flight, Starship will feature a smaller forward flap that’s located higher up on the rocket to reduce heating during its reentry. The rocket’s propulsion system was also upgraded to hold 25% more fuel, along with improved avionics for better valve control and sensor readings, boosting performance and enabling longer missions, according to SpaceX.

Starship’s heat shield will use new, upgraded tiles, with a backup layer underneath in case any of the tiles fall off or sustain damage during reentry. SpaceX also redesigned Starship’s avionics to include a “more powerful flight computer,” and integrated antennas to combine Starlink, GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System), and backup radio frequency communication functions into each unit.

SpaceX’s future rocket is a two-stage, reusable super heavy-lift launch vehicle designed to carry crew and cargo to orbit, the Moon, and possibly even Mars. The company has big plans for its Starship rocket this year, hoping for as many as 25 launches in 2025. That’s great for spaceflight, but it could mean bad news for the launch site’s surrounding area as the rocket produces sonic booms that are approximately 10 times louder than SpaceX’s Falcon 9.

Additional reporting by George Dvorsky.