SpaceX is poised to launch its latest Starship megarocket next week, a test that will also attempt to catch the world's largest rocket booster with giant metal chopsticks. If you want to watch it live, we've got details on when and how to see it.
The Starship Flight 8 test is currently scheduled to launch no earlier than Monday, March 3, at 6:30 p.m. EST (2330 GMT) from SpaceX's Starbase facility near Boca Chica Beach in South Texas. As its number suggests, this mission will mark SpaceX's eighth test flight of the giant rocket. It's the first launch since an anomaly destroyed SpaceX's Flight 7 Starship spacecraft, which was doomed by fires that led to its destruction during ascent in January.
You'll be able to watch the Starship Flight 8 launch live on Space.com, courtesy of SpaceX, in a livestream expected to begin shortly about 40 minutes before liftoff. Follow our Starship live updates for more on the flight and read on for exact timing information that we've collected.
What time is SpaceX's Starship Flight 8 launch?
Currently, SpaceX is aiming for a 6:30 p.m. EST liftoff time on March 3 for the Starship Flight 8 launch. The company has not listed a specific window for the launch, but the company's Flight 6 test included a 30-minute window. If a similar window is set for Flight 8, the launch could occur anytime between 6:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. EST (2330 to 0000 GMT).
The launch date could change in the next few days, so be sure to check back here for any updates. SpaceX has already postponed the flight once. An initial announcement by the company included a Friday (Feb. 28) launch target, with the company pushing the flight back three more days without listing a reason.
SpaceX's Starship launch system is the world's tallest and most powerful rocket. Designed to be fully resuable, it stands about 400 feet tall (122 meters) and is made up of a giant Super Heavy booster with 33 Raptor engines on its first stage that is topped with a Ship upper stage powered by six Raptor vacuum engines.
The most recent Starship launch was SpaceX's Flight 7 test flight on Jan. 16, which marked the first flight of a new version of Starship, but the Ship vehicle was lost during ascent due to a propellant leak. It rained debris over the Atlantic Ocean near the Turks and Caicos islands just over 8 minutes after launch.
Related: Read our SpaceX Starship and Super Heavy guide for a detailed look
The first Starship test, Flight 1, launched in April 2023, with SpaceX reaching space for the first time with Flight 3 in March 2024. In October 2024, SpaceX captured its first Super Heavy booster with the metal "chopsticks" arms of its Mechazilla gantry on Flight 5, a feat the company repeated on Flight 7 last month.
Can I watch SpaceX's Starship Flight 8 launch?
If you can't get to South Texas and are worried about missing SpaceX's Flight 8 launch, have no fear. You'll be able to watch it live online using one of several livestreams and webcasts that will chronicle the mission. Space.com will even simulcast SpaceX's livestream in real time here and on our homepage.
SpaceX's Starship Flight 8 webcast will stream live on the company's X social media account , as well as its Flight 8 mission page. The livestream should begin about 40 minutes before liftoff, at 5:50 p.m. EST (2250 GMT). It's this webcast that Space.com will simulcast on our VideoFromSpace YouTube channel and on this page.
NASASpaceflight.com is offering its own livestream YouTube. The channel also offers 24/7 live views of SpaceX's Starship preparations and Starbase operations.
If you live near SpaceX's Starbase or plan to travel to see the launch, you can find areas for in-person launch viewing.
The public beach along South Padre Island, near the Cameron County Amphitheater and Isla Blanca Park, is a great place to watch the launch with other spectators. Other viewing areas can be found along the shore of nearby Port Isabel, though do plan ahead as traffic can be heavy close to launch time.
How long is SpaceX's Starship Flight 8?
SpaceX's Flight 8 Starship test flight is expected to attempt to replicate the planned Flight 7 mission and should last just over 66 minutes from launch to splashdown.
"The upcoming flight will fly the same suborbital trajectory as previous missions and will target objectives not reached on the previous test, including Starship’s first payload deployment and multiple reentry experiments geared towards returning the upper stage to the launch site for catch," SpaceX wrote in a mission overview. "The flight also includes the launch, return, and catch of the Super Heavy booster."
If all goes well, the Super Heavy booster will return to the Starbase launch pad to be captured by SpaceX's Mechazilla arms about 7 minutes after liftoff. SpaceX could wave off that catch attempt if anything looks off, directing the Super Heavy to a controlled splashdown offshore in the Gulf of Mexico. (President Trump has signed an executive order renaming the body of water the Gulf of America.)
The Ship vehicle, meanwhile, will continue flying for the next hour. It is expected to perform a payload deployment test about 17 minutes into the flight, followed by a Raptor engine relight demonstration before reentering Earth's atmosphere.
The Flight 8 Ship is scheduled to make a controlled "landing" in the Indian Ocean at the 1-hour, 6-minute mark, then splash into the ocean. If SpaceX replicates previous flights, that drop zone would be somewhere west of Australia.
TIME (Hr:Min:Sec) | EVENT | Header Cell - Column 2 |
|---|---|---|
T-1:15:00 | Flight director poll for fuel loading | Row 0 - Cell 2 |
T-0:45:59 | Starship liquid oxygen loading begins | Row 1 - Cell 2 |
T-0:42:59 | Starship liquid methane loading begins | Row 2 - Cell 2 |
T-0:41:22 | Super Heavy liquid methane loading begins | Row 3 - Cell 2 |
T-0:35:35 | Super Heavy liquid oxygen loading begins | Row 4 - Cell 2 |
T-00:19:40 | Super Heavy Raptor engine chilldown | Row 5 - Cell 2 |
T-00:3:20 | Starship fueling complete | Row 6 - Cell 2 |
T-00:2:50 | Super Heavy fueling complete | Row 7 - Cell 2 |
T-00:0:30 | Flight Director GO for launch | Row 8 - Cell 2 |
T-00:00:10 | Flame deflector activation | Row 9 - Cell 2 |
T-00:00:03 | Raptor ignition sequence startup | Row 10 - Cell 2 |
T-00:00:00 | Liftoff ("Excitement Guaranteed," SpaceX says) | Row 11 - Cell 2 |
TIME (Hr:Min:Sec) | FLIGHT EVENT | Header Cell - Column 2 |
|---|---|---|
T+00:02 | Liftoff | Row 0 - Cell 2 |
T+01:02 | Starship/Super Heavy reach Max Q | Row 1 - Cell 2 |
T+02:32 | Super Heavy main engine cutoff | Row 2 - Cell 2 |
T+02:40 | Hot-staging separation/Starship Raptor engine ignition | Row 3 - Cell 2 |
T+02:45 | Super Heavy boostback burn startup | Row 4 - Cell 2 |
T+03:30 | Super Heavy boostback burn engine shutdown | Row 5 - Cell 2 |
T+03:32 | Hot-stage jettison | Row 6 - Cell 2 |
T+06:37 | Super Heavy landing burn startup | Row 7 - Cell 2 |
T+06:57 | Super Heavy landing burn shutdown and catch try | Row 8 - Cell 2 |
T+08:44 | Starship engine cutoff | Row 9 - Cell 2 |
T+00:17:24 | Payload deploy demo | Row 10 - Cell 2 |
T+00:37:28 | Starship engine relight demonstration | Row 11 - Cell 2 |
T+00:47:22 | Starship reentry | Row 12 - Cell 2 |
T+01:03:05 | Starship transonic | Row 13 - Cell 2 |
T+1:04:20 | Starship is subsonic | Row 14 - Cell 2 |
T+1:06:04 | Landing flip | Row 15 - Cell 2 |
T+1:06:06 | Landing burn | Row 16 - Cell 2 |
T+1:06:26 | "An exciting landing!" SpaceX says. | Row 17 - Cell 2 |
What if Starship can't launch on March 3?
If SpaceX can't launch Starship Flight 8 on March 3, the company could have options to try again over the next few days.
According to a public advisory from Cameron County officials overseeing the region of South Texas that includes SpaceX's Starbase, road and beach closure alerts for Boca Chica Beach are in place for launch day, with "alternative days" on March 4 and March 5. Those closures run from from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. local time for all days, suggesting that SpaceX may have at least three opportunities to launch Flight 8.
SpaceX has said that any backup launch attempt can depend on how far the company gets in the fueling process for Starship and Super Heavy. The company has said in the past that it can take several days to restock the more than 10 million pounds of super-cold liquid methane and liquid oxygen propellant needed for launch.
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