This Starship test flight is not like the others.
SpaceX is attempting a feat never accomplished before in the history of rocketry: returning the upper stage of its rocket — in this case, the Starship spacecraft — to a safe, upright landing on dry ground.
The company has already had some success landing Starship’s first-stage rocket booster, called Super Heavy. And it will attempt that maneuver again today. But then all eyes will be on the upper Starship spacecraft. Recovering the “ship,” as the vehicle is often referred, will be vastly more difficult because it will be traveling more than 20 times the speed of sound as it comes blazing home from space after its day-long trek through orbit.
It’s expected to be an eventful — potentially 22-hour — test flight. Here’s what to look out for:
