SpaceX preps the mighty Starship rocket for its 8th flight test

Activity at SpaceX’s Starbase site in Boca Chica, Texas, suggests that the spaceflight company is moving rapidly toward the eighth test of its mighty Starship rocket, which comprises the first-stage Super Heavy booster and the upper-stage Starship spacecraft.

SpaceX has released two sets of images from the site in recent days, the first one showing the Super Heavy booster being transported to the launchpad:

Super Heavy moving to the pad at Starbase pic.twitter.com/4jZqZe3YTc

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) February 8, 2025

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The other set shows the booster’s engine being fired as part of a ground-based engine test ahead of flight.

Full duration static fire test of Super Heavy pic.twitter.com/JwVWdyarfd

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) February 9, 2025

To complete the stack, the Starship spacecraft will be placed atop the Super Heavy booster. It’ll be lifted into position by the same mechanical arms that are used to “catch” the booster when it returns from delivering the spacecraft to orbit. SpaceX has achieved the spectacular feat twice so far, on the fifth and seventh flights.

The seventh and most recent test flight of SpaceX’s Starship took place on January 16, 2025. Like all of the Starship flights since the first one in April 2022, the rocket launched from Starbase in southeast Texas, close to the border with Mexico.

Several reports have suggested that the eighth test flight of Starship will get underway no earlier than February 24, and the recent engine test certainly suggests that the mission could take place before the end of this month.

The current plan is to use the Starship for crew and cargo missions to the moon, Mars, and beyond.

In the short-term, NASA wants to use a modified version of the Starship for its next crewed moon landing, which is currently scheduled for 2027 as part of the highly anticipated Artemis III mission.

But there is still much testing to be carried out, so the date could slip.