SpaceX Prepares for Starship’s Eighth Test Flight at Starbase

Excitement is building at SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas, as the company moves closer to the eighth test flight of its massive Starship rocket. The Starship system includes the powerful Super Heavy booster for the first stage and the Starship spacecraft for the upper stage. Recent activity at the site indicates that preparations are well underway.

In the last few days, SpaceX has shared two updates from its Starbase site. The first set of images captures 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

The second update features the booster’s engine firing during a static fire test, a critical step ahead of the next flight:

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

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) February 9, 2025

To prepare for the upcoming flight, the Starship spacecraft will soon be stacked atop the Super Heavy booster. SpaceX plans to use its mechanical arms—famously used to “catch” the booster after previous flights—to complete the stacking process. The booster catch system is still a relatively new achievement for SpaceX, having been successfully performed during the fifth and seventh Starship flights.

The most recent Starship test flight took place on January 16, 2025. Since the inaugural flight in April 2022, all Starship launches have been conducted from Starbase, located in southeast Texas near the Mexican border. Reports suggest the eighth test flight could happen as early as February 24, based on the recent successful engine test. If everything proceeds as planned, the mission is expected to happen later this month.

In the long term, SpaceX envisions using Starship for crew and cargo missions to the moon, Mars, and beyond. NASA also plans to utilize a modified version of Starship for its Artemis III mission, which will mark the next crewed moon landing. Currently scheduled for 2027, it’s a key part of NASA’s ambitious lunar exploration program. However, with more testing ahead, this timeline could still shift.

Stay tuned as SpaceX continues to push the boundaries of space exploration with Starship!