SpaceX’s Starship Flight 11 Set for October 13
By Mudit Dube | Sep 30, 2025, 04:02 PM
What’s the story?
SpaceX has announced the launch date for its next Starship mission, Flight 11. The launch is scheduled for October 13 from SpaceX’s Starbase facility in South Texas. The launch window will open at 7:15 PM EDT, with SpaceX planning to livestream the event starting 30 minutes before liftoff.
This upcoming mission will mark the final flight of the current “Version 2” of the Starship vehicle.
Rocket Design: What is the Starship Vehicle?
The Starship is a two-stage rocket system, both stages constructed from stainless steel and designed for full reusability. The first stage, known as the Super Heavy booster, carries the Starship upper stage through the lower atmosphere. After reaching the desired trajectory, the two stages separate as planned.
The upper stage continues toward suborbital space to conduct experiments, while the booster begins a controlled descent back to Earth.
Rocket Evolution: Version 2 is the Tallest Rocket Ever Built
Starship Version 2 stands nearly 400 feet tall when fully stacked, making it the tallest and most powerful rocket ever built. The next iteration, Version 3, will be even taller at approximately 408 feet. SpaceX aims to continue scaling the rocket, with a fourth version expected to debut in 2027, reaching around 466 feet in height.
Mission Details: Flight 11 Will Mirror Flight 10
Flight 11 will closely follow the successful Flight 10 mission, which launched on August 26. During Flight 10, the Super Heavy booster successfully splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico, while the Starship upper stage landed in the Indian Ocean after deploying eight dummy versions of SpaceX’s Starlink internet satellites.
For Flight 11, SpaceX plans to target the same splashdown zones and deploy another set of eight mock Starlink satellites.
Booster Test: New Landing Burn Engine Configuration
In addition to mission objectives, SpaceX will test a new landing burn engine configuration for the Super Heavy booster during Flight 11. The plan is to use five of the booster’s 33 Raptor engines for descent fine-tuning instead of the usual three. This change is intended to add redundancy in case of spontaneous engine shutdowns and will become the standard for Version 3 of the Super Heavy booster.
Stay tuned for this landmark launch as SpaceX prepares to close out Version 2 of the Starship program and push forward with innovations for future flights.
