SpaceX Starship Flight 9 Set for May 28 Launch: How to Watch the Historic Test Live

Boca Chica, May 28, 2025 - SpaceX is gearing up for its Starship Flight 9 launch on Wednesday, May 28, from its Starbase facility near Boca Chica, South Texas. This ninth test flight of the massive Starship megarocket marks a significant step as SpaceX attempts to reuse its Super Heavy booster for the first time, a critical milestone in its reusable rocket program.

The booster, previously flown on Flight 7, will feature 29 of its 33 Raptor engines reused, with single-use parts replaced. Unlike previous missions where the booster was caught by the launch tower, this time it will splash down in the Gulf of Mexico to prioritize safety, carrying experiments to enhance future booster performance.

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Ambitious Objectives for the Upper Stage

The Starship’s upper stage, Ship 35, will follow a suborbital trajectory, aiming to achieve objectives that eluded SpaceX in prior failed tests, such as Flights 7 and 8 earlier this year in January and March. During those missions, while the Super Heavy booster successfully landed, the Ship stage failed to lift off due to engine malfunctions. This flight will test the deployment of eight dummy Starlink satellites and gather data on the upper stage’s reentry, focusing on vulnerable areas to enable its eventual return to the launch site.

Real-time updates from SpaceX indicate that the company has implemented hardware changes to the upper stage to mitigate past issues, raising hopes for a successful mission.

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How to Watch the Launch Live

SpaceX will livestream the Starship Flight 9 launch starting 30 minutes before liftoff, at 4:30 AM IST on May 28 (7:00 PM EDT on May 27). Viewers can tune in via the SpaceX website, the company’s official X account, or YouTube channels like Space.com and NASASpaceflight.com, which will also offer prelaunch coverage. Backup launch dates are scheduled for May 28 and 29, with road closures around Boca Chica extending through May 29, suggesting potential delays if conditions are not optimal. Posts on X reflect growing excitement among space enthusiasts, with many anticipating an “epic” event despite the decision to forego a booster catch for safety reasons.

The Broader Impact of Starship’s Mission

Starship, standing at 400 feet (122 meters), is the world’s largest and most powerful rocket, designed to be fully reusable for missions to low Earth orbit, the moon, and Mars. NASA has selected Starship to land Artemis astronauts on the moon in 2027, underscoring its critical role in future space exploration. The data collected from this flight’s experiments will inform improvements for future missions, aligning with SpaceX’s vision of making space travel more sustainable and cost-effective. As SpaceX continues to push boundaries, this launch could pave the way for more ambitious reusable rocket technologies.