Starship’s fifth test flight is approved: where to watch the launch
VergeSEP 2024
SpaceX Launches Starship Rocket Booster
SpaceX's Launches Starship AimsRocket for Groundbreaking Booster Recovery
Above: The SpaceX Starship lifts off from Starbase near Boca Chica, Texas, on Oct. 13, 2024, for the Starship Flight 5 test. Image credit: SERGIO FLORES/Contributor/AFP via Getty Images
The Spin
TheThis ambitiouslaunch naturerepresents ofa thissignificant teststep raisesforward concernsin aboutreusable potentialrocket setbackstechnology. AThe failureability to recovercatch theand boosterrapidly orreuse significantthe damageSuper toHeavy launchbooster facilities could leaddramatically toreduce delayslaunch incosts NASA'sand lunarturnaround programtimes. TheSuccess complexhere maneuverswould plannedbe a game-changer for thisspace flightexploration carryand highcould risks,accelerate andplans successfor islunar farand fromMars guaranteedmissions.
The ambitious nature of this test raises concerns. Musk's alignment with right-wing politics threatens to overshadow its founding vision of making life multi-planetary. While there's no harm in humanity investing in colonizing other planets, if the power to do so remains concentrated in SpaceX's hands, it will have catastrophic consequences for the world.
Metaculus Prediction
There's a 50% chance that SpaceX's Starship will carry a human to orbit by 2027, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
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© 2026 Improve the News Foundation.
All rights reserved.
Version 6.18.0