SpaceX is counting down to the next test flight of its Starship spacecraft.
The launch is planned for 6:45 p.m. ET from the company’s Starbase launch site in Boca Chica, Texas.
Known as Starship Flight 13, the mission will carry 20 next-generation Starlink satellites while attempting several major flight objectives.
Among them are relighting one of the vehicle’s engines in space and completing a controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean.
The test flight is another step forward in SpaceX’s development of Starship, the world’s most powerful rocket, and could have major implications for Florida’s Space Coast.
SpaceX plans to eventually launch Starship from Florida and is continuing work on launch infrastructure that would support future missions from Cape Canaveral.
The spacecraft also plays a key role in NASA’s Artemis program.
SpaceX is developing a version of Starship that NASA plans to use as the human lunar lander for the Artemis III mission, which aims to return astronauts to the Moon.
As part of those preparations, NASA hopes to conduct a critical docking demonstration in low-Earth orbit next year.
The test would demonstrate how astronauts could transfer between the Orion spacecraft and Starship before traveling to the lunar surface.
A successful Flight 13 would mark another milestone in Starship’s development and move SpaceX closer to supporting both commercial launches from Florida and future NASA missions to the Moon.
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