Starship's 8th orbital mission today: When and how to watch
What's the story
Elon Musk's Starship rocket is preparing for its eighth orbital mission, after a mid-air explosion over the Caribbean during the last trial.
The test flight is critical in demonstrating the rocket's reliability and potential contribution to NASA's Moon program and future Mars missions.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had grounded Starship after its last flight on January 16 ended with the upper stage disintegrating over the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Launch details
Starship's upcoming launch: What to expect
The next test flight of Starship will be conducted at SpaceX's Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas.
A launch window opens at 23:30 GMT today (5:00am IST, tomorrow). You can watch the livestream via SpaceX's website and X account.
Standing 403-feet tall, the Starship rocket is meant to be fully reusable.
It is key to Musk and SpaceX's Mars colonization vision and NASA's Artemis program to return astronauts to the Moon.
Enhancements
SpaceX's upgrades for the upcoming flight
SpaceX has added many upgrades to the upper-stage spacecraft for this flight, making it more reliable.
The mission, which will last a little over an hour, will also see another attempt to catch the booster stage with launch tower's "chopstick" arms.
SpaceX will also deploy Starlink simulators designed to mimic next-gen Starlink satellites that will burn up on atmospheric re-entry.
The company hopes to recover the upper stage eventually but is currently eyeing an ocean splashdown off Australia's west coast.