SpaceX is to carry out the ninth test flight of its deep-space rocket Starship early on Wednesday, as it aims to keep its bold ambitions to journey to Mars on course.
The launch in Texas follows failed attempts to recover the Starship spacecraft during test flights seven and eight, which set back SpaceX’s development of the 121-metre rocket.
Starship, a two-stage rocket system that consists of the Super Heavy Booster and the Starship spacecraft, will release eight mock Starlink satellites during the test flight.
The last two test flights ended in failure before the satellites could be deployed.
“The Starship upper stage will repeat its suborbital trajectory and target objectives not reached on the previous two flight tests, including the first payload deployment from Starship and multiple re-entry experiments geared towards returning the vehicle to the launch site for catch,” SpaceX said in a statement.
The test flight is scheduled for 3.30am GST on Wednesday, with a live broadcast starting 30 minutes earlier on SpaceX’s website.
Despite the loss of the Starship spacecraft in the previous two test flights, the company managed to recover the Super Heavy Booster by capturing it mid-air with mechanical arms on a launch tower.
This time, however, SpaceX plans a splashdown of the vehicle to test new landing techniques and collect data.
Despite back-to-back failures this year, the company has made significant progress in developing the Starship rocket system since its first test flight in 2023. These have included recovering the booster using the mechanical arms and bringing back the spacecraft after some flights.
SpaceX founder Elon Musk is developing Starship to eventually send humans to Mars.
The billionaire is due to give an update on Tuesday on SpaceX's plans to “make life multiplanetary”. This will be streamed live on the X platform at 8.55pm GST.
The company also has a $2.89 billion contract with Nasa to develop a Starship system to land astronauts on the Moon.
It has been carrying out test flights to prepare the rocket for commercial operations.
SpaceX recently secured permission to increase its launches from five to 25 per year from the US Federal Aviation Administration.
Dr Sarath Raj, project director of the Satellite Ground Station at Dubai's Amity University, told The National earlier this month that the move will “significantly accelerate” the rocket’s development.
“This substantial increase from the previous limit allows SpaceX to implement a rapid iterative testing campaign, quickly identifying and rectifying design or operational flaws through frequent flight data,” he said.
“Each launch provides invaluable real-world performance data crucial for refining the Starship system, including its novel full reusability aspects.”
SpaceX has also used this rapid development approach for its flagship Falcon rockets, building and testing them quickly to gather data and make improvements.
But frequent test flights of Starship have been a challenge due to strict requirements.
On May 3, SpaceX's launch site Starbase became a city in Texas, after residents of the area, many of whom are SpaceX employees, voted in favour of Mr Musk's proposal.
SpaceX’s progress also comes as Nasa, which is US government-funded, faces budget cuts.
The White House’s proposed budget cuts cast doubt on Nasa projects such as the SLS rocket and Orion capsule, which would both be used to take astronauts to the Moon.
Lin Kayser, co-founder of Dubai company Leap 71, which develops artificial intelligence models to generate rocket engines, said Starship could be the foundation of US ambitions of exploring deep space.
“With the future of Nasa’s SLS and Orion uncertain due to rising costs and limited reusability, Starship is increasingly emerging as the de facto backbone of US launch infrastructure,” he said.
“SpaceX is already the primary launch provider for the US government and with Starship it becomes a near-monopoly at the high end of launch capability. That level of centralisation raises strategic concerns but it also highlights how far ahead SpaceX has pulled.”
THE BIG THREE
NOVAK DJOKOVIC
19 grand slam singles titles
Wimbledon: 5 (2011, 14, 15, 18, 19)
French Open: 2 (2016, 21)
US Open: 3 (2011, 15, 18)
Australian Open: 9 (2008, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 19, 20, 21)
Prize money: $150m
ROGER FEDERER
20 grand slam singles titles
Wimbledon: 8 (2003, 04, 05, 06, 07, 09, 12, 17)
French Open: 1 (2009)
US Open: 5 (2004, 05, 06, 07, 08)
Australian Open: 6 (2004, 06, 07, 10, 17, 18)
Prize money: $130m
RAFAEL NADAL
20 grand slam singles titles
Wimbledon: 2 (2008, 10)
French Open: 13 (2005, 06, 07, 08, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20)
US Open: 4 (2010, 13, 17, 19)
Australian Open: 1 (2009)
Prize money: $125m
Zayed Sustainability Prize
The biog:
Languages: Arabic, Farsi, Hindi, basic Russian
Favourite food: Pizza
Best food on the road: rice
Favourite colour: silver
Favourite bike: Gold Wing, Honda
Favourite biking destination: Canada
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
Evacuations to France hit by controversy
- Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
- Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
- The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
- Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
- It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
- Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
- Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
The stats
Ship name: MSC Bellissima
Ship class: Meraviglia Class
Delivery date: February 27, 2019
Gross tonnage: 171,598 GT
Passenger capacity: 5,686
Crew members: 1,536
Number of cabins: 2,217
Length: 315.3 metres
Maximum speed: 22.7 knots (42kph)
The five pillars of Islam
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
MATCH INFO
Uefa Nations League
League A, Group 4
Spain v England, 10.45pm (UAE)
Teri%20Baaton%20Mein%20Aisa%20Uljha%20Jiya
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirectors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Amit%20Joshi%20and%20Aradhana%20Sah%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECast%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Shahid%20Kapoor%2C%20Kriti%20Sanon%2C%20Dharmendra%2C%20Dimple%20Kapadia%2C%20Rakesh%20Bedi%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
World record transfers
1. Kylian Mbappe - to Real Madrid in 2017/18 - €180 million (Dh770.4m - if a deal goes through)
2. Paul Pogba - to Manchester United in 2016/17 - €105m
3. Gareth Bale - to Real Madrid in 2013/14 - €101m
4. Cristiano Ronaldo - to Real Madrid in 2009/10 - €94m
5. Gonzalo Higuain - to Juventus in 2016/17 - €90m
6. Neymar - to Barcelona in 2013/14 - €88.2m
7. Romelu Lukaku - to Manchester United in 2017/18 - €84.7m
8. Luis Suarez - to Barcelona in 2014/15 - €81.72m
9. Angel di Maria - to Manchester United in 2014/15 - €75m
10. James Rodriguez - to Real Madrid in 2014/15 - €75m
Springtime in a Broken Mirror,
Mario Benedetti, Penguin Modern Classics
Tenet
Director: Christopher Nolan
Stars: John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Dimple Kapadia, Michael Caine, Kenneth Branagh
Rating: 5/5
MATCH INFO
Maratha Arabians 107-8 (10 ovs)
Lyth 21, Lynn 20, McClenaghan 20 no
Qalandars 60-4 (10 ovs)
Malan 32 no, McClenaghan 2-9
Maratha Arabians win by 47 runs
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
MATCH INFO
Scotland 59 (Tries: Hastings (2), G Horne (3), Turner, Seymour, Barclay, Kinghorn, McInally; Cons: Hastings 8)
Russia 0
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
