The SpaceX Starship Flight 8 booster returns from its ascent on March 6 in Boca Chica Beach, Texas. Photo: Brandon Bell/Getty Images
SpaceX is expected to attempt a critical test flight for its Starship rocket shortly after this newsletter reaches your inbox.
"The stakes are particularly high for this Starship flight, as the last two test launches of the rocket didn't end well for SpaceX," Bloomberg reports.
"Both flights in January and March were cut short just minutes after takeoff when the Starship spacecraft exploded over the Gulf of Mexico, sending streams of debris raining down from the sky."
The intrigue: It's the ninth test flight for Starship but the first major SpaceX launch since Elon Musk pledged to refocus his efforts on his companies after devoting much of his time to the federal budget-slashing Department of Government Efficiency earlier this year.
Starship is key to SpaceX's ambitions to fly cargo — and then people — to Mars in the next few years.
How to watch: The livestream is expected to begin around 6:50pm ET on SpaceX's website and X account as well as Space.com's homepage and YouTube.
