SpaceX is slated to launch its gargantuan Starship rocket on Tuesday out of South Texas, a key test that is expected to include a guest visit from President-elect Donald Trump.

The sixth major test mission comes as SpaceX Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk is heavily engaged in transition planning for Trump’s second administration. Musk, who has been a near-constant fixture of Trump’s inner circle since the November 5 election, has maintained that over regulation, especially surrounding Starship, factored into his decision to support the Republican.

SpaceX will try to launch Starship from its site in South Texas during a 30-minute time slot beginning at 4 p.m. local time, sending the vehicle to space and partially around the world.

One of the most anticipated moments on Tuesday will come about seven minutes into the mission when the company will attempt to catch the Super Heavy booster in midair with giant mechanical arms — referred to as “chopsticks” — repeating the groundbreaking feat from its previous flight.

The largest and most powerful rocket ever developed, Starship is under contract to function as a lunar lander that NASA will use to put people back on the moon for the first time in half a century. It’s the centerpiece of Musk’s ambition to start a settlement on Mars. 

The vehicle is also meant to revolutionise SpaceX’s business plan. Designed to be fully reusable, SpaceX claims Starship will be much cheaper to fly than any other rocket on the market and will eventually replace its industry-leading Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets for sending cargo into orbit. 

But to meet that promise of delivering a fully reusable rocket, SpaceX must refine its technique for recovering all of the pieces of Starship after launch. 

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The launch will be the latest event Musk and Trump have attended together, following a Saturday night Ultimate Fighting Championship match in Madison Square Garden. Trump has frequently showered Musk with praise at his rallies, oftentimes describing in great detail his awe watching SpaceX rockets. 

On this flight, the company will attempt once again to “catch” the rocket’s massive booster, called Super Heavy, which is used to propel the Starship spacecraft toward space throughout the first few minutes of takeoff. Like last time, the booster will return back its launchpad and slow itself down as it comes in for landing. A pair of giant mechanical arms will then catch the booster and stop its fall.

Starship will attempt a fiery return plunge through the atmosphere, testing out an updated heat shield to protect it during the fall. It will then try to return to an upright position before splashing down into the Indian Ocean.

While most of Starship appeared to survive this process in October, parts of the vehicle appeared to burn off. However, the company was still able to splash down Starship relatively intact and upright in the ocean.

SpaceX should have a better view of this fall during Tuesday’s launch attempt. The company aims to launch in the Texas afternoon, which means Starship will be landing in the Indian Ocean during the daytime. That should provide more sunlight to show how the vehicle survives its descent.

SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said on Friday that as many as 400 Starship flights were possible over the next four years. That frequency can only happen if SpaceX perfects its landing strategy, so the company can quickly turn around the rockets for their next flights. Shotwell described the process as similar to the way airlines drive down the cost of owning and operating commercial jetliners.

During the October test, the booster came very close to crashing near the tower, Musk said in a video on his X platform. SpaceX will need to address that issue as well as a laundry list of other things, such as refueling the vehicle in space, before Starship lives up to the full scope of Musk’s plans.

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SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket has successfully launched the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) GSAT-20, a sophisticated communication satellite, on November 19. The mission took place at 12:01 am from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The satellite, weighing 4,700kg, was deployed into geosynchronous transfer orbit after a 34-minute flight. This was the Elon Musk-headed company’s first launch of an ISRO satellite, conducted through NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), ISRO’s commercial arm.

Satellite Details and Objectives

The GSAT-20 satellite, also referred to as GSAT-N2, has been designed to enhance India’s communication infrastructure. Equipped with a Ka-band high-throughput communications payload, the satellite offers a capacity of 48 Gbps. Its 32 user beams include eight narrow beams for India’s northeastern region and 24 wide beams covering the rest of the country. The beams are supported by ground hub stations within mainland India.

The satellite also features advanced Ka-Ka band transponders, facilitating reliable internet services in remote areas such as the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep. It will cater to inflight and maritime communication needs, ensuring broader connectivity across the nation. The satellite has a mission lifespan of 14 years.

Choice of SpaceX for the Launch

ISRO’s reliance on SpaceX for the GSAT-20 launch was driven by specific logistical challenges. The satellite’s weight has exceeded the capacity of India’s heaviest launch vehicle, the LVM-3, which supports payloads of up to 4,000 kg in geosynchronous transfer orbit. Alternatives such as Arianespace were unavailable due to the non-operational status of its rockets. Geopolitical issues ruled out Russian options.

The Falcon 9 rocket’s first-stage booster completed its 19th flight, landing on the droneship Just Read the Instructions approximately eight and a half minutes after liftoff.

Launch Costs and Historical Significance

Reports estimate the cost of the launch between $60 million and $70 million. This mission marked ISRO’s first satellite launch exclusively using the Ka-band frequency. The launch was part of a busy schedule for SpaceX, which also completed two other missions within 48 hours, including deploying Starlink satellites and a satellite for Australia’s Optus.

India has unveiled an ambitious plan to construct a moon-orbiting space station by 2040, aiming to establish a sustainable human presence beyond Earth’s orbit. The proposed station will facilitate crewed lunar missions and support scientific research, according to recent reports from Indian media. This initiative represents a significant milestone in the nation’s growing space exploration efforts.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has outlined a phased approach to achieve this goal. As per a report by India Today, in the first stage, robotic missions including the Chandrayaan-4 sample-return mission, are planned. This mission, scheduled for 2028, will attempt to retrieve approximately 3 kilograms of lunar samples from the moon’s south pole and bring them back to Earth. ISRO Chairman S. Somanath emphasised the focus on cost-effective methods for such missions.

Crewed Lunar Missions on the Horizon

The second phase of India’s lunar strategy involves sending astronauts to the moon. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, following the successful Chandrayaan-3 mission in 2023, called for bold objectives, including a crewed moon flyby by 2035 and a human landing by 2040. To prepare for these missions, selected astronauts are undergoing extensive training at ISRO’s Bengaluru facility, having previously completed training in Russia.

Focus on Long-Term Lunar Presence

The final phase of this programme will culminate in the development of the moon-orbiting station, the reported added. Expected to be operational by 2040, the station will serve as a base for astronauts and a hub for scientific research. Plans also include constructing a permanent lunar base before 2050, the report further mentioned.

The initiative builds upon ISRO’s experience with the Bharatiya Antariksh Station (BAS), a low Earth orbit facility set to begin operations by 2035. S. Sivakumar, project director for ISRO’s next-generation launch vehicle, highlighted the challenges posed by this unprecedented undertaking, noting that many aspects of the project involve uncharted territory for the space agency.

India’s long-term lunar exploration goals reflect its determination to cement its position as a major player in global space exploration.