After being delayed twice, SpaceX is preparing to launch its tenth Starship test flight on Tuesday from Boca Chica, Texas.
The modern rocket’s first launch attempt was postponed due to last-minute issues with their “ground systems,” and the second try to get the starship in the sky was paused just seconds before lift-off because of poor weather on Monday, according to SpaceX.
The flight will be a big test for Starship’s massive Super Heavy booster engines. Notably, in this flight, instead of returning to the launch site, portions of the starship will land offshore in the Gulf of Mexico.
Engineers are allegedly planning to attempt some challenging maneuvers, including landing with fewer engines than usual and testing how the booster handles sharp angles as it reenters the atmosphere. These launches, such as the previously successful docking of four astronauts at the International Space Station earlier this month, help the SpaceX team understand how the rocket behaves in real-world conditions, not just simulated flights.
Starship 10 is a different beast, an especially powerful ship for Elon Musk and crew.
The new Starship is powered by 42 Raptor engines: a number chosen not just to add to engine-thrust strength, but also potentially as a playful nod to Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, where 42 is the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything, according to the fiction series.
Musk even responded to an X user making the connection to the sci-fi series and the iconic number 42, simply replying, “inevitable.” Back in March, Musk also posted, “About 42 minutes until Starship Test Flight 8!” Possibly another wink to Adams?
The top of the Starship will conduct additional tests in space, including the deployment of eight “Starlink simulators” and running tests on the impacts of briefly relighting an engine while in orbit, according to the company. Engineers are also allegedly testing new heat-shield tiles and reinforced fittings to see how the rocket can survive reentry back into the atmosphere and be reused safely in the future.
With production ramping up in Texas for SpaceX—and with their recent expansion in Florida —each flight provides SpaceX with priceless data to refine Starship.
If Tuesday’s launch goes as planned in Boca Chica, it will bring the space company one step closer to Musk’s goal of a fully reusable rocket system that could one day carry humans to Mars and beyond.