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SpaceX Targets 2026 to Test Orbital Flight for Next-Gen Starship Vehicle
Orbital missions will unlock the next phase of Starship’s development, providing better data on the performance of the spacecraft’s heat shield and allowing for tests of in-orbit refuelling, which will be essential for missions to Mars.
It has been two weeks since SpaceX’s last Starship test flight, and engineers have diagnosed issues with its heat shield, identified improvements, and developed a preliminary plan for the next time the ship heads into space. Video from the buoy and a drone hovering nearby showed Starship coming in for splashdown, initially falling belly first before lighting three of its six Raptor engines to flip upright moments before settling into the ocean. SpaceX used the flight to put the booster through higher stresses as it came back to Earth, guiding the rocket to a water landing in the Gulf instead of returning it to the launch pad for a catch by the tower’s mechanical arms.
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