SpaceX is preparing for the 11th test flight of its colossal Starship Super Heavy rocket, aiming to push the boundaries of fully reusable spaceflight and pave the way for future missions to the Moon and Mars.
The flight, set to launch from SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Texas, will introduce significant upgrades and new manoeuvres in both flight hardware and mission objectives.
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WHAT HAS CHANGED FOR STARSHIP FLIGHT 11?
Flight 11 brings several crucial changes over previous tests. SpaceX will test a new landing burn strategy for the Super Heavy booster, employing a refined sequence to improve reliability for future recoveries further.
Notably, Starship’s heat shield will undergo its boldest trial yet: engineers have intentionally removed tiles from select areas to stress-test the vehicle’s most vulnerable locations during reentry.
This approach will provide vital data for understanding tile integrity under extreme conditions, information essential to future safe and rapid reuse.
Additionally, Flight 11 will be the last launch of the current “Version 2” Starship, with plans to debut an even larger and more capable “Version 3” in 2026. The upper-stage Starship will deploy eight dummy Starlink satellites in suborbital space and perform an in-space engine relight, simulating key manoeuvres necessary for deep space missions.
Both the booster and ship feature engines that have already flown before, demonstrating SpaceX’s rapid refurbishment approach for hardware reuse.
WHERE WILL STARSHIP LAND?
The Super Heavy booster is set to splash down in the Gulf of Mexico after stage separation, closely following the trajectory that succeeded in earlier flights.
The Starship upper stage will continue eastward and, after completing its objectives, including a dynamic banking manoeuvre to test guidance for future targeted landings, will ultimately splash down in the Indian Ocean.
This landing location will allow SpaceX to gather new data on extended reentry, heatshield endurance, and splashdown behaviours, all critical for eventual returns to Starbase and orbital refuelling missions.
The test flight is critical not just for SpaceX, but for the future of space travel and humanity’s reach beyond Earth.
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