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SpaceX has completed a last-minute propellant loading test for its highly anticipated Starship Flight 6, scheduled for afternoon Eastern Time on Tuesday. Like Starship Flight 5, Flight 6 will also attempt to capture the Starship Super Heavy first stage booster with the tower arm and gently land the Starship second stage in the Indian Ocean. However, unlike Flight 5, Starship’s upcoming test flight will also test the in-space restart of the Raptor engines on Starship’s second stage and additional flight profiles designed to test the ship’s endurance limits and design options for capturing it with the launch tower.

SpaceX Moves Forward With Last Minute Checks On Starship Full Stack Ahead Of Flight 6 On Tuesday

Over the past few days, SpaceX transported the Starship Super Heavy booster and its ship to the launch pad before stacking the ship on top of the booster ahead of Tuesday’s test attempt. The test was originally scheduled for tomorrow, but weather problems forced SpaceX to move the launch forward by one day. After stacking the rocket, SpaceX completely filled the ship’s boosters and tanks with liquid oxygen and hydrogen as part of a pressure test. These tests evaluate the structural integrity of the rocket and other systems to ensure they are in working condition before launch.

Once testing was complete, the company shared on its X page that it was ready to resume Starship Flight 6 on Tuesday. If Flight 6 successfully lifts off on Tuesday, it would mark the fastest turnaround time for an integrated Starship rocket in the test program’s history. SpaceX launched Starship Flight 5 in mid-October, and obtained a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) launch license for Flights 5 and 6 simultaneously.

This eliminates the time the company would normally have to wait for regulatory clearance because the flight profiles of both test missions were identical.

Like Starship Flight 5, Flight 6 also required SpaceX to perform several checks before it could proceed to return the 232-foot Super Heavy booster to the launch pad. According to previous updates shared by the company, Flight 6 will see propulsion system upgrades, structural upgrades, and shorter post-capture propellant disassembly times for the boosters. The SpaceX flight control team must feel comfortable returning the booster to the pad before the boost back burn process is complete. If they weren’t confident, the rocket would have landed softly in the Gulf of Mexico.

The main star of the show is the top-tier Starship spacecraft. According to SpaceX, they will fly the ship during reentry at a much steeper angle than before to test the flaps and collect data for future testing. Additionally, test “will remove entire sections of heat shield tiles on both sides of the ship in locations that are being studied for hardware that would enable capture on future vehicles,” as well as improved thermal protection.

SpaceX’s second-generation second stage Starship, which recently underwent testing, will fly aboard Flight 7. It has larger propellant tanks, new tiles, a redesigned top cover and additional thermal protection layers. Back-to-back Starship tests will also allow SpaceX to capture the ship with a tower arm, which could take place over the next six months.