Elon Musk Plans 'Profound' Starship Launch on Friday the 13th

SpaceX is planning one of its most exciting rocket tests ever on November 13 — a Friday the 13th. The company's giant Starship rocket will try to do something it has never done before during this launch. For the first time, SpaceX will attempt to catch both the Starship rocket and its Super Heavy booster using the launch tower. SpaceX boss Elon Musk says this test, called Starship Flight 15, is a major step toward sending people to the Moon and Mars.

Musk called the upcoming flight a "profound technology milestone" in rocket science and space exploration. He said in October that he believes the test will most likely succeed, but that success is not certain. "If not, we have a steady stream of Starship flight attempts through the end of this year and then accelerating next year," he added. That means even if something goes wrong, SpaceX plans to keep trying with more launches soon after.

The launch date was revealed by SpaceX Vice President of Launch Kiko Dontchev at the UP Summit, an event held at the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida. Technology reporter Eric Berger from Ars Technica was there and shared the news. SpaceX has not yet posted an official flight plan on its website, but the company usually streams its launches and landings live online. Fans around the world will likely be able to watch the test from home.

One important part of this test could be a trial of a system that moves rocket fuel from one spacecraft to another while both are in space. This is called in-orbit propellant transfer, and it is a key piece of SpaceX's plan to reach the Moon. NASA's safety advisors have said SpaceX may need to do as many as 22 of these refueling missions in space to get Starship ready for a Moon trip. However, Musk disagrees and says the real number will be "more like six to eight."

SpaceX is also working toward a big goal set by NASA. NASA's Artemis III mission, planned for no earlier than June 2027, will use Starship as part of a mission to the Moon. In that mission, an uncrewed Starship will try to connect with NASA's Orion spacecraft, which will carry four astronauts. After that link-up, NASA hopes to use Starship to land astronauts on the Moon's surface during the Artemis IV mission in 2028, though some experts have raised questions about whether Starship will be fully ready in time.