Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, announced that his company intends to conduct the fourth test flight of the heavy-lift rocket carrying a model of the Starship spacecraft in about 3-5 weeks. Musk posted a picture of the Starship on the social media platform X, stating, "Preparations for its launch are underway." When a user on X asked Musk about the purpose and timing of the new launch, Musk replied that the spacecraft would launch in 3–5 weeks, aiming to travel further than it did during the previous launch.
It is noteworthy that the third test flight of the Starship took place in March 2024, when the company reported losing the spacecraft at the 49th minute of its flight as it entered Earth’s atmosphere at an altitude of 77 kilometers. The first and second attempts to launch the spacecraft also ended in failure.
SpaceX plans to develop the multipurpose Starship system, which will be used for crewed space travel to low Earth orbit, satellite launches, and missions to the Moon, Mars, and other planets. The Super Heavy booster and the Starship spacecraft are expected to be reused multiple times, returning to Earth via vertical landing.
