SpaceX has completed stacking Ship 37 on Super Heavy Booster 16 at its Starbase complex in South Texas, setting the 403-foot Starship system for its tenth integrated test flight. The company moved the vehicle to the pad and finished “full-stack” operations late Saturday, clearing the way for launch preparations. A 60-minute window opens at 6:30 p.m. Central Time on Sunday, 24 August. During the flight, Booster 16 will attempt a flip, boost-back burn, two-engine hover and a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico. The upper stage will try to open its payload bay and release eight Starlink satellite simulators, reignite a Raptor engine in space, and re-enter over the Indian Ocean to stress-test new heat-shield tiles and larger steering flaps. SpaceX puts the probability of acceptable weather at 45 % and has advised residents of Cameron County that launch operations could generate loud noises. The mission is viewed as pivotal after three Starship failures earlier this year, including the destruction of Ship 35 in May and a static-fire explosion in June. A successful flight would advance Starship’s reusability goals and bolster its planned roles in deploying next-generation Starlink satellites and landing NASA astronauts on the Moon under the Artemis program.
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