Starship launch: How to watch Elon Musk's SpaceX conduct latest rocket launch from Texas

SpaceX's massive Starship spacecraft is due to get off the ground again Monday evening from South Texas for the second time this year.

The impending launch, which was pushed from Friday before the Federal Aviation Administration gave the green light, comes little more than a month since the previous flight test in January ended with the vehicle unexpectedly exploding in the sky. The most recent demonstration of the biggest and most powerful rocket ever built also included the successful return of the booster, known as the Super Heavy, at the launch pad.The 400-foot vehicle, composed of both the 165-foot Starship spacecraft and the 232-foot Super Heavy rocket, is being developed and tested before eventually being used on future crewed spaceflight missions.

SpaceX envisions the spacecraft as being a fully reusable transportation system that will be vital for when NASA astronauts return to the moon, perhaps as early as 2027. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has also made clear his ambitions for Starship to ferry the first humans from Earth straight to Mars.
Here's how to watch the Starship test launch, and what to know about SpaceX's goals for the flight:
SpaceX is planning to launch its Starship on Monday on its eighth flight test from the company's Starbase in Boca Chica near Brownsville, Texas.

The launch window opens at 6:30 p.m. EST.

How to watch SpaceX livestream
SpaceX will host a livestream of the flight test that will begin about 40 minutes before liftoff.
The webcast is available on its website and on social media platform X. Coverage will also be available on SpaceX's on new X TV app.

"As is the case with all developmental testing, the schedule is dynamic and likely to change, so be sure to check in here and stay tuned to our X account for updates," SpaceX said.
SpaceX once again plans to attempt a third return and catch of the rocket booster at the launch pad, which would cause sonic booms in the area around the landing zone. The maneuver, which was first pulled off once during the October demonstration, was called off during the November launch, which then President-elect Donald Trump attended.
The Starship vehicle itself is targeted to land once again in the Indian Ocean. However, SpaceX plans to conduct experiments geared toward one day returning the vehicle, known as the the upper stage, back to the launch site.

In another objective, SpaceX will take a second shot at a Starlink payload deployment test – a key capability for the vehicle in the future that was called off during the previous launch. The four Starlink simulators, similar in size and weight to next-generation Starlink satellites, will be on the same suborbital trajectory as Starship and are expected to burn up on reentry.Additionally, the company plans to once again reignite its Raptor engines in space to attempt an orbital burn – a crucial maneuver to one day bring a vehicle back to the ground.
Starship's Eighth Flight Test
Starship’s eighth flight test lifted off from Starbase in Texas at 5:30 p.m. CT on Thursday, March 6. The Super Heavy booster successfully lit its 33 Raptor engines and propelled Starship through a nominal first-stage ascent.

Approximately two and a half minutes into flight, the Super Heavy booster shutdown all but three of its Raptor engines as planned for hot-staging separation. Starship then successfully lit its six Raptor engines and separated from the Super Heavy booster to continue its ascent to space.

The Super Heavy booster then relit 11 of 13 planned Raptor engines and performed a boostback burn to return itself to the launch site. As Super Heavy approached the launch site, it relit 12 of the planned 13 engines at the start of its landing burn to successfully slow the booster down. The three center engines continued running to maneuver the booster to the launch and catch tower arms, resulting in the third successful catch of a Super Heavy booster.

Starship continued its ascent to its planned trajectory. Prior to the end of the ascent burn, an energetic event in the aft portion of Starship resulted in the loss of several Raptor engines. This in turn led to a loss of attitude control and ultimately a loss of communications with Starship. Final contact with Starship came approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds after liftoff.

Starship flew within a designated launch corridor to safeguard the public both on the ground, on water, and in the air. Following the anomaly, SpaceX teams immediately began coordination with the FAA, ATO (air traffic control) and other safety officials to implement pre-planned contingency responses.

Any surviving debris would have fallen within the pre-planned Debris Response Area. There are no toxic materials present in the debris and no significant impacts expected to occur to marine species or water quality. If you believe you have identified a piece of debris, please contact your local authorities or the SpaceX Debris Hotline at 1-866-623-0234 or at [email protected].

With a test like this, success comes from what we learn, and today’s flight will help us improve Starship’s reliability. We will conduct a thorough investigation, in coordination with the FAA, and implement corrective actions to make improvements on future Starship flight tests.