SpaceX Starship gears up for 11th flight: Objectives, when and where to watch and other details

Starship, Elon Musk-owned SpaceX's massive rocket that could one day ferry astronauts from Earth to Mars, is slated to undergo its fifth test flight of 2025 on October 13.

The test flight, to be launched from SpaceX's sprawling Starbase complex in Texas, is slated for lift-off at 7.15 pm ET.

The 11th test flight of Starship since its first in April 2023, the October launch will be crucial, with SpaceX seeking to build on its successful August test after three consecutive failures prior to that.

What will the October launch focus on?

According to SpaceX, data from the test will be used to design the next iteration of the the ship's lower-stage rocket booster, called Super Heavy.

The October launch will also stress-test heatshield of the upper-stage vehicle, known simply as Starship.

In addition, the 2002-founded space tech company plans to attempt mid-flight manoeuvres with the upper stage, which are deemed necessary if the vehicle is to one day become capable of returning and landing back at launch sites.

"The flight test includes several experiments and operational changes focused on enabling Starship’s upper stage to return to the launch site on future flights ... To mimic the path a ship will take on future flights returning to Starbase, the final phase of Starship’s trajectory on Flight 11 includes a dynamic banking maneuver and will test subsonic guidance algorithms prior to a landing burn and splashdown," the company said in a release.

For this test, the company intends to land the upper-stage in the Indian Ocean, as it did in its successful August 26 test this year.

Where to watch the October 13 test flight?

This month's test flight can be watched on microblogging platform X, on SpaceX's official handle.

It will also be webcast on the X TV app.

Streaming will begin 30 mins before the scheduled launch time, the company has said.