Overview

• Launch window opens at 6:15 p.m. CDT (7:15 p.m. ET), with a SpaceX livestream beginning about 30 minutes before liftoff.
• A previously flown Super Heavy from Flight 8 will launch with 24 flight‑proven Raptor engines, and no tower catch is planned.
• The booster will trial a new 13‑5‑3 landing‑burn sequence before a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico to measure descent dynamics.
• The upper stage will deploy eight Starlink simulators, attempt an in‑space Raptor relight, perform a dynamic banking maneuver, and reenter with tiles intentionally removed to stress‑test the heat shield.
• Starship is slated to splash down in the Indian Ocean about 66 minutes after liftoff, in what SpaceX says will be the last launch from the current Pad A as it pivots to Version 3 and upgraded infrastructure closely watched for NASA’s Artemis plans.