Elon Musk confirms SpaceX's 8th Starship launch, focus on perfecting reentry after previous failure

Super Heavy on the launch pad at Starbase ahead of Starship's eighth flight test (Image creadit: SpaceX, X)

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk confirmed in a tweet that the company will proceed with its next Starship test flight on Monday, emphasizing the need to perfect the spacecraft's reentry under extreme temperatures before attempting a tower-arm catch. "This is a real video of a past @SpaceX Starship water landing. Trying again tomorrow. We need to perfect ship reentry at extreme temperatures before attempting to catch the ship with the tower arms, like the booster," Musk wrote.

This is a real video of a past @SpaceX Starship water landing.Trying again tomorrow.We need to perfect ship reentry at extreme temperatures before attempting to catch the ship with the tower arms, like the booster.pic.twitter.com/tss9Lb4fWr
Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 2, 2025

The upcoming launch comes just six weeks after Starship’s previous test flight ended in an explosion over the Atlantic Ocean. SpaceX has since implemented multiple hardware and operational upgrades to enhance the rocket’s reliability. The mission will test key objectives, including Starship’s first payload deployment, reentry experiments, and a potential booster catch attempt.

Following an internal investigation, SpaceX announced that it has made several hardware and operational modifications to improve the reliability of Starship’s upper stage. “After completing the investigation into the loss of Starship early on its seventh flight test, several hardware and operational changes have been made,” the company stated in a blog post.

The upcoming mission will follow a suborbital trajectory similar to previous test flights but will aim to achieve several milestones that were not met last time. These include Starship’s first-ever payload deployment and multiple reentry experiments to refine the vehicle’s ability to return to its launch site for future reuse.

Additionally, the flight will feature the launch, return, and attempted catch of the Super Heavy booster, a crucial step in SpaceX’s broader vision of making Starship a fully reusable spacecraft.

As part of the upgrades, Starship’s forward flaps have been redesigned to improve heat resistance and simplify their mechanical systems. The propulsion system has been enhanced with a 25% increase in propellant capacity, allowing for longer missions, while the avionics have been completely overhauled to support complex tasks such as in-orbit refueling and returning to the launch pad.

Acknowledging the uncertainties of developmental testing, SpaceX noted that every flight provides critical data to refine Starship’s design. “By putting flight hardware in a flight environment as frequently as possible, we’re able to quickly learn and execute design changes as we seek to bring Starship online as a fully and rapidly reusable vehicle,” the company stated.