# SpaceX's make-or-break Starship test flight

> SpaceX launches its most critical Starship test yet on Monday, aiming to prove orbital capabilities and stick a booster landing.
- Title: SpaceX's make-or-break Starship test flight · Futurism
- Summary: SpaceX launches its most critical Starship test yet on Monday, aiming to prove orbital capabilities and stick a booster landing. Monday's test flight is…
- Keywords: spacex, starship, test flight, orbital flight, super heavy booster, nasa, artemis 3, starlink, rocket landing, lunar missions, science, technology
- Source: Futurism — https://futurism.com/space/spacex-preparing-most-important-starship-launch
- Author: Victor Tangermann
- Published: 2026-09-25T14:51:04+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: spacex, starship, test flight, orbital flight, super heavy booster, nasa, artemis 3, starlink, rocket landing, lunar missions, science, technology
## Starship's recent struggles
SpaceX's July test deployed 20 satellites successfully, but only 10 of the Super Heavy booster's 13 engines relit during landing, causing a hard crash.
## The Monday mission plan
Starship will orbit Earth six times over ten hours at 171 miles altitude, then attempt a soft landing in the Pacific Ocean west of Chile.
## Why this launch matters
Proving orbital flight is critical for Starship to deliver satellites regularly and support NASA's Artemis 3 mission, planned for 2027, to return astronauts to the Moon.
## Hardware upgrades for reliability
SpaceX modified the Super Heavy booster's engine filtering and software to improve relight reliability after the July failure.

> The Super Heavy on this upcoming flight has hardware modifications to improve filtering to the engines and software changes to enhance relight reliability.
## Reentry and satellite delivery
Starship will use an upgraded heatshield for reentry, reusing two tiles from the previous test, and will deploy 26 Starlink V3 satellites to expand network capacity.
## The bigger picture
SpaceX plans to retire its Falcon 9 rocket in favor of Starship, which can theoretically carry ten times more satellites per launch and support lunar missions.
## Key takeaway

Monday's test flight is SpaceX's biggest challenge to date and essential for Starship to become operational for NASA's lunar missions.