Overview

• Liftoff is targeted from South Texas on the night of October 13 for a flight planned to last 1 hour and 6 minutes.
• The Super Heavy booster will trial a new reentry ignition sequence—firing 13, then 5, then 3 Raptor engines—and end with a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico instead of a tower catch.
• Upper-stage Ship 38 will release next‑gen Starlink simulators, attempt an in‑orbit relight to test maneuvering and return, and reenter with select heat‑shield tiles intentionally removed for stress testing.
• If the mission proceeds as planned, it would close out the Block 2 series and set up a shift to a lighter Block 3 variant intended for operational use.
• The critical in‑orbit cryogenic refueling needed for a lunar landing remains unproven, with estimates ranging from at least 10 to as many as 40 tanker launches and only small internal transfer tests performed so far as China advances toward a human Moon landing goal by 2030.