SpaceX will launch its Starship megarocket for the eighth time on Friday, February 28.
The news came via SpaceX CEO, Elon Musk, who posted a short message on X saying simply: “Starship Flight 8 flies Friday.”
Starship Flight 8 flies Friday pic.twitter.com/CmOdg13e6K
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 24, 2025
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SpaceX has yet to confirm the flight’s specific launch time, but just like the previous seven test missions, the 120-meter-tall rocket will lift off from the company’s facility near Boca Chica, Texas.
The test flight will be the first since January 16, when SpaceX managed to “catch” the returning first-stage Super Heavy booster using a pair of giant mechanical arms attached to the launch tower. It was the second time to achieve the feat.
However, the same mission had planned to perform a controlled landing of the upper-stage Starship spacecraft in the Indian Ocean, a goal that had been achieved in previous missions. But the vehicle suffered an anomaly before burning up in spectacular fashion over the Caribbean.
For the eighth flight, SpaceX will be hoping to achieve controlled landings for both the Super Heavy booster and the Starship spacecraft.
NASA wants to use the Starship for crew and cargo missions to the moon and Mars. The immediate goal is to use a modified version of the Starship spacecraft to land the first woman and first person of color on the lunar surface in the Artemis III mission, currently scheduled for 2027. But recent reports have suggested that Musk is keen to prioritize the first crewed mission to the red planet, a goal that he has long dreamed of. In a post on X in December, Musk dismissed NASA’s moon-focused Artemis program as a “distraction,” insisting that “we’re going straight to Mars.”
With Musk emerging as a dominant force in President Trump’s second term, some believe he may be trying to persuade the U.S. leader to focus on the Mars endeavor over visits to the lunar surface. Indeed, during Trump’s inaugural address last month, the new president emphasized Mars without mentioning the moon, leading to speculation about Musk’s influence.