When will Starship launch?

The second launch of SpaceX's Starship is scheduled for no earlier than Saturday, November 18, 2023. The launch was initially planned for November 17, 2023, but was postponed to replace a grid fin actuator

. The liftoff is planned to occur during a two-hour window that opens at 8 a.m. EST (1300 GMT)

. The launch will be broadcasted live on SpaceX's webcast, which is expected to start at 7:30 a.m. EST (1230 GMT)

. The mission aims to send the Starship on a looping trajectory around the planet before re-entry and splashdown in the Pacific Ocean north of Hawaii. The Super Heavy-Starship is the largest, most powerful rocket ever built, standing 397 feet tall and weighing over 11 million pounds when fully fueled. It is equipped with 33 Raptor engines in the Super Heavy first stage, capable of generating 16 million pounds of thrust at full throttle

. The first Starship flight occurred on April 20, 2023, but the rocket was intentionally exploded after its stages failed to separate as planned. Since then, SpaceX has implemented over 1,000 upgrades and improvements, including a water deluge system beneath the launch pad to avoid such damage on this launch. The company also shifted to a hot-staging technique for stage separation, in which the upper Starship stage begins firing its engines before separating from the Super Heavy

. If the launch on November 18 is not possible, SpaceX has set aside November 19 and November 20 as potential backup dates for the launch

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