SpaceX has assembled its sixth Starship megarocket at its Starbase facility in South Texas in preparation for a scheduled launch on November 19, 2024. (Image credit: SpaceX via X) The Starship megarocket is ready for its sixth test flight next week. SpaceX has combined the two components of Starship—the Super Heavy booster and the Ship upper-stage spacecraft—on the orbital launch mount at its South Texas site.
The company announced this achievement in a post on X on Friday night, which included four images of the stacking process and its results. The post also indicated a change in the flight date, moving from Monday (November 18) to Tuesday (November 19). The launch will take place during a 30-minute window starting at 5 p.m. EST (2100 GMT; 4 p.m. local Texas time).
The Super Heavy booster and Ship were transported to the launch pad separately earlier this week. The stacking process resulted in a vehicle that stands nearly 400 feet (122 meters) tall, making it the largest and most powerful rocket ever constructed.
SpaceX is developing Starship to be fully and quickly reusable, aiming to assist humanity in establishing a presence on the Moon and Mars. NASA is already a client; the agency has chosen Starship to serve as the first crewed lander for its Artemis lunar exploration program. If everything proceeds as planned, Starship will transport the Artemis 3 astronauts to the lunar surface in September 2026, marking the first crewed moon landing since Apollo 17 in 1972.
Starship’s five previous flights took place in April and November 2023, as well as in March, June, and October of this year. The fifth flight generated considerable excitement when Super Heavy successfully returned to Earth, landing next to the Starbase launch tower, which utilized its “chopstick” arms to capture the massive booster. SpaceX aims to replicate this impressive maneuver during Flight 6. Meanwhile, Ship is expected to land in the Indian Ocean, similar to its landing during Flight 5.
