"SpaceX is counting down to today's 11th flight test of its monster Starship rocket, with weather looking suitable for the opening of the launch window at 18:15 CT (or around 17:00 CT, if the company's billionaire boss is to be believed). If all goes according to plan, the launch will mark the final hurrah for version two of the Starship system and the end of the road for the launchpad where the rocket is currently sitting."
"The Super Heavy booster being used previously saw action on flight 8 and will include 24 flight-proven Raptor engines. There are no plans to attempt another catch - instead, the booster will be sent into the Gulf of Mexico after demonstrating a landing burn engine profile to be used on the next generation of booster. The plan is to use 13 engines at the start of the landing phase, then transition to five engines for the divert phase, demonstrating additional redundancy."
SpaceX is preparing the 11th Starship flight test with weather suitable for the launch window around 18:15 CT. The launch will be the final flight for version two of the Starship system and will retire the current launch pad. The pad previously suffered partial destruction during the 2023 full-system attempt and saw a historic booster catch in 2024. A second pad will handle Block Three Starships starting in 2026. The mission will reuse a Super Heavy booster with 24 flight-proven Raptor engines and will demonstrate landing-burn profiles rather than attempting a catch. The upper stage will deploy eight Starlink simulators and attempt a Raptor relight.
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