SpaceX is sending Starship on a new test flight into space, Donald Trump is watching everything with Musk

Tonight, SpaceX will perform the sixth test flight of its Starship rocket, and the launch in Texas will be watched with pleasure by Donald Trump, who announced his trip on TruthSocial and greeted his friend Elon Musk. The launch should start around 23:00 with transmission to Xu.

The goal of this testing is to further improve the capabilities of the Starship and its reuse system. The Super Heavy booster is scheduled to return to the launch site, where it will be recaptured by the grapples on the launch tower. At the same time, the upper stage of the rocket will carry out an experimental ignition of the Raptor engine in space and test new thermal protection solutions during re-entry into the atmosphere and landing in the Indian Ocean, which should now be much more visible because it will take place during the day.

The last flight, the fifth in a row, was crucial for proving the technical feasibility of returning and reusing the rocket. Booster then successfully returned and was captured, while the upper stage accurately completed the test mission. Today’s mission has additional challenges, including strengthening structural resistance, optimizing software and testing new materials for thermal protection.

In the event that the conditions for the return of the booster are not met, the rocket will surely land in the Gulf of Mexico, while any sonic booms during the return will be felt only as a short-term thunder-like noise.

This launch is a step closer to SpaceX’s ultimate goal of developing a fully and rapidly usable launch system that will enable commercial and exploratory space missions. The results of tonight’s test will serve for additional improvements, and more the next mission will include significantly modernized components of the rocket.