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CEO Elon Musk said SpaceX is targeting no earlier than Monday to conduct its fourth high-altitude test flight from Boca Chica, Texas using a new Starship spaceship test vehicle.

SpaceX has plenty of goals when taking its future spaceship on 6-mile-high test flights from Texas but as the company prepares to try again with a new Starship prototype the goal of keeping the shiny prototype in one piece looms large.

CEO Elon Musk said SpaceX is targeting no earlier than Monday to conduct its fourth high-altitude test flight from Boca Chica, Texas using a new Starship spaceship test vehicle. Serial No. 11, or SN11, will become the latest prototype subject to the same test flight that has destroyed three previous vehicles.

During the test flight, the shiny bullet-shaped ship soars more than 6 miles into the sky after lifting off from the Texas coast then it descended horizontally over the Gulf of Mexico before flipping upright just in time to land. It’s the final part that previous Starship prototypes have not survived, at least for very long.

“Standing down SN11 until probably Monday. Additional checkouts are needed. Doing our best to land & fully recover,” Musk said in a tweet Friday.

To “fully recover” would mean SN11 survives the landing and doesn’t explode post-landing either which happened after the most recent test.

Here’s a quick recap of the recent testing of Starship in Texas:

Prior to the high-altitude test flights, SpaceX completed a series of “hops” with a shorter prototype of the spaceship, also in Texas.
In December, SpaceX conducted its first high-altitude test flight of the Starship prototype called Serial No. 8, or SN8. While the takeoff and aerial descent went well SN8 exploded upon landing attempt. Still, it was the first time the public was able to see what SpaceX is attempting to accomplish with its futuristic spaceship designed to travel to the moon and Mars. The first attempt was considered a success for SpaceX with what it did achieve.
A second similar test in February with a new prototype SN9 also ended in a fireball during the landing attempt.
SpaceX almost nailed it during the most recent test flight with SN10. The Starship prototype launched and successfully landed but then exploded a few minutes later.
Launching on the ashes of its predecessors SN11 will mark the fourth attempt for Musk’s future Mars spaceship.

SpaceX has yet to announce the launch window for SN11 but does plan to live stream the test flight when it happens.

 

Originally Published at Click Orlando