SpaceX prepares for Starship test launch with possibly Trump in attendance

SpaceX is set to conduct its next Starship test flight on Tuesday from Boca Chica in Texas, as the company continues to refine its reusable rocket technology.

The launch, scheduled for 4:00 p.m. local time (2200 GMT), will focus on catching the Super Heavy booster stage using the rocket's launch tower "chopstick" arms. The launch follows the first booster catch last month, though the company's founder and CEO Elon Musk later revealed it narrowly avoided disaster.

The event is garnering media attention with reports indicating that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is expected to witness the launch in person. The Federal Aviation Administration on Monday issued "temporary flight restrictions for VIP Movement" and restrictions in place over Trump's Florida residence will be lifted at the same time frame.

The flight also marks the final test for the current Starship prototypes, with next-generation models introducing upgrades such as redesigned forward flaps, larger propellant tanks and improved thermal protection layers.

The launch will be SpaceX's sixth test flight to space for Starship, the company's next-generation rocket system at the center of Musk's vision to send humans and cargo to Mars. It is also critical to NASA's Artemis program, which plans to use Starship for lunar landings later this decade.

(With input from AFP)