SpaceX chief reveals target date for 9th Starship test

SpaceX chief Elon Musk has strongly suggested that the ninth test flight of the massive Starship rocket will take place next week.

“Just before the Starship flight next week, I will give a company talk explaining the Mars game plan in Starbase, Texas, that will also be live-streamed on X,” Musk said in a social media post on Wednesday.

His comments came shortly after SpaceX conducted a static test fire of the Starship spacecraft’s Raptor engines, which will assist the vehicle in the planned controlled landing in the Indian Ocean following separation from the first-stage Super Heavy booster.

After losing the spacecraft in flights seven and eight earlier this year, SpaceX is under pressure to ensure that this time around the vehicle performs as expected.

As Musk said in his post, the long-term plan is to use the Starship — the most powerful rocket ever to fly — to take the first human crew to the surface of Mars. 

The SpaceX chief said in 2024 that he wanted to launch an uncrewed Starship to the red planet as early as next year to test the reliability of the spacecraft’s landing and liftoff capabilities. Next week, we’ll get an update on that plan.  

Once SpaceX engineers are confident of the Starship’s ability to get astronauts safely to Mars — and back again — the company can start making concrete preparations for the first crewed flight, something Musk has said he’d like to see happen before the end of this decade.

Musk’s timelines often miss the mark, so don’t be surprised if this one does too. On the flip side, SpaceX is expected to ramp up Starship testing to up to two flights a month by the end of this year, giving the technology powering the rocket a better chance of accelerating toward readiness.

Before the crewed Mars flight, NASA is expecting to use a modified version of the Starship to land two crewmembers on the surface of the moon in the Artemis III mission, which could take  place in 2027. 

This year looks set to be the busiest yet for the Starship. Tune in next week for Musk’s address to find out more about what’s in store.