Future Starship flights will end with a return to Starbase, where the launch tower will attempt to catch a ship returning home from space, much like SpaceX has shown is possible. restore super heavy accelerator. A attempt to catch using Starship there are at least a couple more flights before it.
In preparation for a future return to Starbase, Flight 11 will perform a “dynamic roll maneuver” and test subsonic guidance algorithms before final engine burn for splashdown braking. If all goes according to plan, the flight will end with a controlled water landing in the Indian Ocean approximately 66 minutes after takeoff.
Turning point
Monday's test flight will be Starship's last launch of the year as SpaceX prepares a new generation of rocket called Version 3 for a debut sometime in early 2026. The new version of the rocket will fly with upgraded Raptor engines and larger fuel tanks and have the ability to refuel in low Earth orbit.
Starship version 3 will also open SpaceX's second launch pad at Starbase, which features several improvements over the existing pad, including a flame trench to redirect engine exhaust gases away from the pad. The flame trench is a common feature of many launch pads, but until now all starship flights have used an elevated launch rig or stool over a water-cooled flame deflector.
The current launch complex is expected to be modified to accommodate future Starship V3s, giving the company two pads to support higher flight speeds.
NASA is counting on higher Starship flight rates next year to move closer to fulfilling SpaceX's contract to supply a manned lander for the agency's Artemis lunar program. SpaceX has more than $4 billion in contracts to develop a Starship derivative for land NASA astronauts on the moon.
But much of SpaceX's progress toward landing on the moon depends on launching multiple Starships—perhaps a dozen or more—over a period of weeks or months. To make this possible, SpaceX is activating a second launch site in Texas and building several launch towers and a new plant in Florida.
Besides the recovery and reuse of Starship itself, the program's biggest hurdle in the near future is demonstrating in-orbit refueling, which is a prerequisite for any future Starship voyages to the Moon or Mars. That first refueling test could happen next year, but it would require a smoother rollout of Starship V3 than Starship V2, which retires after Flight 11 with, at best, a 40 percent success rate.
