SpaceX has now transported its latest Starship upper stage to the launch pad at Starbase, South Texas, in preparation for the spacecraft’s eleventh test flight. Pictured in images published September 17, 2025, the shining stainless-steel structure, almost 171 feet, or about 52 meters tall, ambles slowly through the night toward the pad where the massive “chopstick” arms of its commanding launch tower will be lining up to lovingly clasp onto that rocket. The milestone is one in a long series of tests, engine firings, and pressurisation runs meant to make sure Starship, along with its booster, Super Heavy, are ready to fly.
What Just Happened
According to Space, the Starship upper stage has been transported to the launch pad for testing, including wet-dress rehearsals and engine tests in preparation for flight. It will be supported by “chopstick” tower arms of the launch infrastructure during tests on the ground.
Flight 11 & What’s Next
Flight 11 has not yet been scheduled for a firm launch date. It came after Flight 10 (which took off on August 26, 2025) passed with flying colours. SpaceX will retire Starship Version 2 after Flight 11 and begin testing out Version 3, a slightly taller model to integrate lessons learned from former versions.
The next version, Version 3, looks to continue successes and learnings from Version 2. If all goes well, there should be early prototypes of this iteration in testing soon. In the case of Version 2, its Last Mission is at once a capstone and a way station.
In other words, the recent appearance of Starship is an early sign that SpaceX may be getting closer to its next major test flight. And with all systems go, the spaceflight community’s eyes will be glued.
