SpaceX could enter new phase in Starship’s development, but also face new riskspublished at 12:54 BST
12:54 BST
Georgina Rannard
Climate and Science reporter
If all goes to plan, Starship 14 will go orbital today for the first time, looping around Earth as many as six times.
It’s a significant test of SpaceX as the company tries to move Starship out of its testing phase into full, reliable operation.
SpaceX has proven it can build the world’s largest and most powerful rocket to date – the rocket today will stand at more than 100 metres.
But it needs to show that it can get the capsule beyond Earth’s sub-orbit. Since launching for the first time three years ago, nearly half of Starship’s 13 missions have ended in unintended explosions.
SpaceX says its motto is to push capacities to the extreme and that it is content to fail along the way – but the clock is ticking for the company to prove to US space agency Nasa that it has reliable space vehicles and systems.
Starship has a multi-billion dollar contract with Nasa to carry astronauts to the Moon as part of America’s Artemis programme.
Today could mark a new phase in the development of SpaceX’s rocket, but also introduce new risks as it will be harder to quickly pull the capsule back to Earth if something goes wrong.