SpaceX Starship 8 set for launch tonight — here’s what to know

SpaceX is scheduled to launch its eighth test flight of the massive Starship rocket on Monday, which will include another attempt to catch its Super Heavy booster at the launchpad with mechanical arms dubbed “chopsticks.”

The latest launch is looking to improve on last month’s test after the 400-foot-tall Starship lost contact with the ground crew less than 9 minutes after launch, spectacularly imploding and crashing to pieces over the Caribbean.

If Monday’s test goes as planned, it will be only the second time SpaceX has been able to carry out both a successful Starship launch and Super Heavy booster catch.

What time is the launch set to happen?

Starship Flight 8 is currently slated to fly no earlier than 6:30 p.m. EST on Monday from SpaceX’s Starbase facility near Boca Chica Beach, in Texas.

The company has set a 60 minute window open for the launch, meaning the actual launched could occur anytime between 6:30 and 7:30 p.m.

Given the dynamic nature of space launches, the test is subject to change at any time, with SpaceX providing updates live on their website.

What is expected to happen?

The eight test flight is expected to see Starship zoom across the Gulf of America and release 10 dummy satellites as practice before it will splash down in the Indian Ocean.

The test will also see the Super Heavy boosters, equipped with 33 Raptor engines, return to the launchpad in Texas, where SpaceX is hoping to catch the massive boosters with its Mechazilla chopstick arms.

The company could choose to withhold the catching attempt if the right conditions aren’t met, which would result in the boosters splashing down in the Gulf of America.

What happened during the last launch?

SpaceX saw mixed results during the Starship Test Flight 7 in January — the Starship spacecraft blew up, but the crew was able to successfully catch the Super Heavy booster.

A newly updated Starship experienced a propellant leak during its ascent, causing it to break apart and explode over the Atlantic Ocean, with its burning debris visible from the Turks and Caicos islands.

Despite the loss of the ship, the company successfully demonstrated how its massive mechanical arms dubbed “chopsticks” caught the rocket booster at the launch pad for the second time ever.

The company has since investigated the issues and updated their latest rocket to avoid the issues of the past, hoping to recreate the magic of last October’s test flight where both Starship and its boosters had a successful launch and descent.

The prior launch, Starship Test Flight 6 in November, had the opposite result. That launch — which then President-elect Donald Trump and his family watched from Starbase in Texas — saw the Starship complete its flight, but the booster aborted the Mechazilla catch and splashed down in the gulf.