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<\/p>\nJanuary 3, 2025<\/p>\n
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Elon Musk\u2019s SpaceX said on Friday its upcoming Starship test flight would include the rocket\u2019s first attempt to deploy payloads in space by releasing 10 model Starlink satellites, a key demonstration for Starship\u2019s potential in the satellite launch market.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile in space, Starship will deploy 10 Starlink simulators, similar in size and weight to next-generation Starlink satellites as the first exercise of a satellite deploy mission,\u201d SpaceX said in a blog post on its website.<\/p>\n
The Starship flight from SpaceX\u2019s sprawling Boca Chica, Texas facilities, tentatively planned for later this month, will mark the seventh demonstration in a test-to-failure style of rocket development where the company tests new upgrades with each flight.<\/p>\n
In October, Starship\u2019s \u201cSuper Heavy\u201d first stage booster returned to its launch pad\u2019s giant mechanical arms for the first time, a milestone for its fully reusable design.<\/p>\n
The rocket\u2019s sixth test flight in November, attended by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, achieved similar mission objectives \u2013 besides the landing of Super Heavy, which was forced to target a water landing on the Gulf of Mexico because of a launch pad problem.<\/p>\n
Starship is the centrepiece of SpaceX\u2019s future satellite launch business \u2013 an area it currently dominates with its partially reusable Falcon 9 \u2013 as well as Musk\u2019s dreams to colonize Mars.<\/p>\n
The rocket\u2019s power, stronger than the Saturn V rocket that sent Apollo astronauts to the moon in the last century, is key for launching huge batches of satellites into low-Earth orbit and is expected to rapidly expand the company\u2019s Starlink satellite internet network.<\/p>\n
SpaceX is under contract with NASA to land U.S. astronauts on the moon later this decade using Starship.<\/p>\n
Musk, SpaceX\u2019s founder and CEO, has become a close ally of Trump who has made getting to Mars a more prominent goal for the incoming administration.<\/p>\n