SpaceX is preparing to launch its ninth uncrewed test flight of Starship — the most powerful rocket ever built — with liftoff expected during a one-hour window.

This mission marks a critical moment as the company will attempt to reuse a Super Heavy booster for the first time, after previously catching the massive 60-story rocket with its launch tower arms on three past flights.

The last two missions ended in fiery explosions of the upper Starship vehicle shortly after launch, scattering debris near islands east of Florida. Still, both NASA and SpaceX remain committed to the program.

NASA sees Starship as key to landing astronauts on the moon later this decade, while SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has called it the rocket that will eventually send humans to Mars — a vision that Donald Trump has publicly backed.

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