Elon Musk’s SpaceX announced that its upcoming Starship test flight will include the rocket’s first attempt to deploy payloads in space, launching 10 prototype Starlink satellites.
“While in space, Starship will deploy 10 Starlink simulators, similar in size and weight to next-generation Starlink satellites as the first exercise for a satellite deployment mission,” the company said in a blog post on Friday.
The test flight, scheduled for later this month, will launch from SpaceX’s Boca Chica facilities in Texas. This marks the seventh demonstration of SpaceX’s “test to failure” approach, where new upgrades are evaluated with each flight.
In October, the spacecraft achieved a major milestone when the “Super Heavy” first stage booster successfully returned to the launch pad’s mechanical arms for the first time, showcasing its fully reusable design. However, the sixth test flight in November faced challenges, as the super-heavy rocket was forced to target a water landing in the Gulf of Mexico due to a launch pad problem, despite achieving other mission objectives.
Starship is central to SpaceX’s ambitions in the satellite launch industry, already spearheading the partially reusable Falcon 9 rocket. The rocket’s massive power, exceeding NASA’s historic Saturn V rocket, will enable massive batches of satellites to be deployed into low Earth orbit, dramatically expanding. Starlink satellite internet.
Additionally, the spacecraft is central to Musk’s vision of colonizing Mars, and is under contract with NASA to land American astronauts on the moon later this decade. The missile’s upcoming test flights are expected to prove its ability to launch commercial satellites and interplanetary missions.
Musk, the founder and CEO of SpaceX, has aligned closely with President-elect Donald Trump, who has prioritized Mars exploration on his administration’s space agenda.