SpaceX is also flying rudimentary catch fittings on Starship to test their thermal performance on reentry. The ship will fly a more demanding trajectory during descent to probe the structural limits of the redesigned flaps at the point of maximum entry dynamic pressure, according to SpaceX.

Starship is scheduled to launch from Starbase on Monday (Jan. 13) at 5:00 p.m. EST (2200 GMT). It will be the seventh test flight for the giant rocket, which SpaceX is developing to help humanity settle Mars and achieve a variety of other exploration feats.

On Friday, a Falcon 9 rocket carrying 21 Starlink satellites is set to take off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

Rough seas caused Blue Origin to hold off a planned early Friday launch attempt with is debut of New Glenn now targeting early Sunday instead. SpaceX, though, still has plans to launch later

SpaceX's Starship will fly for the seventh time ever early next week, if all goes according to plan. SpaceX announced today (Jan. 8) that it's targeting Monday (Jan. 13) for Flight 7 of Starship, the 400-foot-tall (122 meters), fully reusable megarocket designed to help humanity settle the moon and Mars.

SpaceX has quickly become something of a taxi service for space travel, allowing private companies and governments alike to affordably send satellites into orbit for research and commercial purposes. The frequent launches have reportedly become something of a nightmare for those who live near the launch sites, however.

The Space Coast is in for a possible double-header. Hours after New Glenn launches on its first flight, SpaceX plans to launch a Falcon 9.

The direct-to-cell Starlink system in Southern California will deliver wireless emergency alerts and power SMS texting to 911 services.

Elon Musk is making political headlines after aligning himself to President-elect Donald Trump, but his tech continues to impact on society.

Blue Origin's first orbital launch now targeting Sunday US space company Blue Origin is now aiming to launch its first orbital rocket on Sunday, it announced on X, because of rough seas in the Atlantic where it hopes to land the first stage booster on a ship.