Overview

• Launch is targeted for October 13 from Starbase in South Texas with a window opening at 6:15 p.m. CT.
• The Super Heavy booster will fly with 24 flight‑proven Raptor engines and head to an offshore landing point in the Gulf without a return to the launch site.
• A new multi‑phase landing‑burn profile will ignite 13 engines, then step down to five during divert and three for a brief hover before cutoff to capture engine shutdown dynamics.
• The upper stage plans to deploy eight Starlink simulator payloads and attempt an in‑space relight of a single Raptor engine.
• Engineers will stress‑test the heatshield with select tile removals and validate banking and subsonic guidance before a controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean.