Starship, the spacecraft Elon Musk has designated as the vehicle to transport the first humans to Mars, is about to launch once again from Texas.

For the first three tests of the year, Starship, which stands about 400 feet tall, struggled to replicate the successes of its test flights in 2024. But a little less than two months ago, the world's largest rocket got off the ground from SpaceX's Starbase facility on its most successful uncrewed mission of 2025.

The test flight, its 10th ever since April 2023, reignited hope for a spacecraft that will be at the center of future U.S. spaceflight missions to not only the Red Planet, but NASA's return to the moon. And SpaceX, which billionaire Musk founded in 2002, no doubt looks to build off that momentum with the vehicle's fifth flight of the year as 2025 comes to a close.

Here's more about Starship, and what SpaceX is planning in its latest test for a spacecraft that could one day help humans land on the moon and Mars.

When is the next Starship launch?

The launch window for SpaceX's next Starship launch, the 11th overall, is due to open at 7:15 p.m. ET Monday, Oct. 13.

"As is the case with all developmental testing, the schedule is dynamic and likely to change," SpaceX warned on its website.

Where does SpaceX launch Starship? What to know about Starbase

SpaceX launches Starship test missions from its sprawling Starbase – the complex that doubles as a Texas city and the company's headquarters in South Texas near the U.S.-Mexico border. In May, Texas voters in Cameron County approved a measure for Starbase to become a city, complete with a mayor and a city council.

As the headquarters for the commercial spaceflight company, Starbase is home to SpaceX's rocket program and is where the vehicles are both built and often launched.

How to watch livestream of Starship test flight from Texas

SpaceX will host a livestream of the flight test that will begin about 30 minutes before liftoff.

The webcast is available on its website and on social media platform X. Coverage will also be available on SpaceX's new X TV app.

Starship flight 11: What is SpaceX planning for next launch?

SpaceX plans to use the flight test to gather data to inform the design of the next iteration of its lower-stage rocket booster, known as Super Heavy, while stress-testing the upper-stage vehicle's heatshield. The company also detailed plans for the upper stage, simply known as Starship, to attempt mid-flight maneuvers that will be necessary for it to one day be capable of returning and landing back at the launch site.

After deploying mock Starlink internet satellites expected to burn up in the atmosphere, the upper stage is intended to land once again in the Indian Ocean.

For the second time ever, SpaceX also plans to use a Super Heavy booster that has flown on a previous Starship flight test. Additionally, 24 of its 33 engines in the SpaceX Raptor family will be "flight proven," SpaceX said.

For the third time in a row, the booster will not return to the launch site, instead landing in the Gulf of Mexico, renamed by the U.S. government as the Gulf of America, as SpaceX attempts to push its performance beyond what has so far been attempted.

"The primary goal on the flight test is to measure the real-world vehicle dynamics as engines shut down while transitioning between the different phases," SpaceX explained of its plans for Super Heavy.

Was the last Starship launch successful?

SpaceX's previous Starship launch Aug. 26 – coming on the heels of three consecutive flights in which the vehicle exploded prematurely – was also its most successful test of the vehicle in 2025.

In that test, the upper stage, the vehicle known as Starship, separated from the rocket booster about three minutes into the flight to continue on its own on a suborbital trajectory. The vehicle then hit two major milestones by deploying eight mock Starlink satellites and reigniting one of its Raptor engines in space for the second time ever, a necessary maneuver to bring a vehicle back to the ground

Re-entering Earth's atmosphere about an hour into the mission over the Indian Ocean, Starship then fired its engines to make a controlled vertical landing on the ocean's surface west of Australia before exploding in a fireball.

As for Super Heavy, the rocket booster made a water landing as planned off the Texas coast after completing several in-flight experiments.

What is Starship?

SpaceX is developing Starship to be a fully reusable transportation system, meaning the rocket and vehicle can return to the ground for additional missions.

In the years ahead, Starship is set to serve a pivotal role in future U.S. spaceflight.

Starship is the centerpiece of Musk's vision of sending the first humans to Mars, with plans for the first uncrewed Starship to head to the Red Planet as early as 2026.

A configuration of the vehicle is also critical in NASA's plans to return astronauts to the moon's surface. The U.S. space agency has designs on using Starship to ferry Artemis III astronauts from an Orion capsule in orbit to the lunar surface as early as 2027.

How big is Starship?

The Starship, standing 403 feet tall when fully stacked, is regarded as the world's largest and most powerful launch vehicle ever developed. When fully integrated, the launch system is composed of both a 232-foot Super Heavy rocket and the 171-foot upper stage Starship, the spacecraft where crew and cargo would ride.

Super Heavy alone is powered by 33 of SpaceX’s Raptor engines that give the initial burst of thrust at liftoff. The upper stage Starship section is powered by six Raptor engines that will ultimately travel in orbit.

Will Starship travel to Mars? About Elon Musk's plan

Billionaire Elon Musk founded SpaceX in 2002 with the vision of paving the way to create a self-sustaining permanent city on the Red Planet.

Why? To fulfill his vision of of "making life multiplanetary" and ensuring humanity's long-term survival.

Musk wants to send the first uncrewed Starship to Mars by the end of 2026 for a very critical reason: The timeline coincides with an orbital alignment around the sun that would shorten the journey between Earth and Mars. Crewed trips with humans would then follow most likely in the early 2030s, Musk has claimed.

Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: SpaceX preps for 11th Starship launch. When is liftoff, what's planned for mission

Reporting by Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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