NASA is also counting on a specialized version of Starship to ferry astronauts to the lunar surface later this decade under its Artemis program. Flight six of Starship was seen as a test of whether SpaceX’s first booster catch was pure precision or relied on a stroke of luck after Musk — perhaps inadvertently — disclosed how close the last flight came to disaster. In a clip posted to X showcasing his gaming chops in “Diablo IV,” sharp-eared fans caught an employee briefing him that the Super Heavy booster was “one second away” from a system failure that could have spelled catastrophe. Starship’s upper stage will make a partial orbit of Earth, reenter the atmosphere and splash down in the Indian Ocean a little over an hour later, but this time in the daylight, providing clearer visuals for analysis. Key milestones include reigniting Starship’s Raptor engines for the first time in space and trialing new heat shield materials. The flight also carries Starship’s first ever payload — a stuffed banana — and serves as a swan song for the current generation of Starship prototypes. With twice the thrust of the Saturn V rockets that powered Apollo missions, Starship is the most powerful rocket ever built. Musk has already teased that its successor, Starship V3, will be “3X more powerful” and could take flight within a year. The flight comes as Musk is riding high on Trump’s November 5 White House win, having campaigned extensively for the returning Republican leader, as well as donating staggering sums from his own fortune to the cause. His loyalty has paid off. Musk has been tapped to co-lead a new “Department of Government Efficiency” — or DOGE, a cheeky nod to the meme-based cryptocurrency Musk loves to promote. That in turn has led to concerns Musk could engage in “self-dealing” as the CEO is poised to straddle the line between government insider and corporate titan. Critics worry he could sway regulatory decisions to benefit his six companies, including SpaceX and its marquee Starship program, which has faced launch delays linked to an environmental review the company called “superfluous.”
