SpaceX

It’s been more than six months since SpaceX’s first Starship orbital flight attempt ended in the vehicle automatically self-destructing over the Gulf after veering out of control.

SpaceX has again revised its timeline for when the first Starship orbital launch is likely to take place.

SpaceX’s goal Thursday was to test fire all 33 engines of its Super Heavy BN7 booster simultaneously at Starbase/Boca Chica.

SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell announced Wednesday that the company for the first time will attempt to test fire all 33 of its Super Heavy booster’s Raptor engines simultaneously Thursday at Boca Chica/Starbase.

SpaceX conducted the first successful, full-scale “wet dress rehearsal” test of a Starship/Super Heavy on Jan. 23 at the Boca Chica/Starbase launch complex, clearing the way for the next big test: a static fire of all 33 of the Super Heavy’s liquid oxygen and liquid methane-fueled Raptor engines simultaneously.

Back in September, SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk said it seemed “highly likely” that the first orbital Starship launch would take place in November, though late October was also a possibility.

Cameron County commissioners voted Monday to approve a resolution in favor of SpaceX’s Starship/Super Heavy project at the company’s Boca Chica production and testing complex, after tabling the vote at two previous meetings and despite opposition from several members of the public who spoke during the public comment portion of the regular meeting.

A Starship pressure test at the SpaceX Boca Chica launch site Monday afternoon ended with an explosion at the test site, video from LabPadre and others confirmed.

The Federal Aviation Administration released the long-awaited results of its Programmatic Environmental Assessment (PEA) of SpaceX’s plans for Starship/Super Heavy launches from its Boca Chica site.

Brownsville received a presidential visit on May 14 when Indonesian president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo flew in to visit Boca Chica/Starbase and meet with SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk.