SpaceX Prepares Starship for Flight 10 Testing at Starbase

SpaceX has moved its Starship upper stage to the launch pad at its Starbase facility in South Texas in preparation for testing before the vehicle's tenth flight. The company shared images of the 171-foot-tall spacecraft being positioned on the pad on July 28, but has not confirmed a specific launch date. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk recently indicated that the flight is expected to take place next month.

The Starship system, which stands 400 feet tall when fully assembled with its Super Heavy booster, is designed to be fully reusable and is intended for missions including Mars exploration. The current upper stage is the second prepared for Flight 10, following the loss of the previous vehicle in a test stand explosion on June 18. SpaceX identified the likely cause as a failure in a pressurized nitrogen tank near the nose of the ship.

Recent Starship test flights have faced challenges, with the upper stage lost during the last three missions in January, March, and May. Meanwhile, the Super Heavy booster successfully completed returns to Starbase in earlier flights, though it broke apart after a landing attempt during Flight 9. Testing of the new Starship upper stage is expected to continue as SpaceX prepares for the upcoming launch.