SpaceX is targeting a Starship and Super Heavy test launch from its Texas facility this Thursday evening, weather permitting, as the company continues preparing for operational launches from Florida. The 13th suborbital test flight would take place at Starbase on the Gulf Coast, with a 90-minute launch window opening at 6:45 p.m. EDT. If successful, the mission could pave the way for Starship launches from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39-A in the coming months.
Construction on the Starship and Super Heavy launch tower at Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39-A is nearly complete. The structure, built adjacent to the Falcon Heavy launch pad, will be the first of three Starship-specific launch towers on the Space Coast. Two additional towers are under development at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's Space Launch Complex 37.
Nathan Commissariat, a SpaceX Starship launch engineer, said teams are conducting final system checks ahead of the Texas test. 'We're working through Starship system activations, performing initial tower chopstick motion tests, confirming the operation of the hold downs on the launch mount, and running multiple integrated tests of the propellant farms, water farm, diverter, and launch mount,' he said. The Florida launch tower's completion is a key step in SpaceX's plan to shift Starship operations to the East Coast after proving the system's reliability in Texas.
The Texas test flight is part of a series of incremental steps to achieve fully operational Starship launches. If enough test missions demonstrate the spacecraft's viability, SpaceX will transition to Florida for its first orbital missions from the Space Coast. The company has not yet announced a specific timeline for that shift, but the Florida infrastructure is being built with future operational launches in mind.