The eighth flight test of Starship is preparing to launch as soon as Monday, March 3.

SpaceX announced its eighth Starship launch for Monday, March 3 and is advising residents of a possible sonic boom during the flight. The 60-minute test window

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk confirmed in a tweet that the company will proceed with its next Starship test flight on Monday, emphasizing the need to perfect the spacecraft's reentry under extreme temperatures before attempting a tower-arm catch.

The goals of Flight 8 will be similar to those of Flight 7, SpaceX wrote in a mission description. SpaceX will try for another Super Heavy chopsticks catch — its third overall, if successful — and Ship will attempt to deploy mock Starlink satellites on its suborbital trajectory (but four this time, not 10).

The most recent flight took place on Jan. 16. That mission was a partial success; SpaceX successfully caught Starship's giant first-stage booster, known as Super Heavy, with the "chopstick" arms of the Starbase launch tower as planned.

SpaceX will launch its Starship megarocket for the eighth time on Friday, February 28. The news came via SpaceX CEO, Elon Musk, who posted a short message on X saying simply: “Starship Flight 8 flies Friday.”

The smallest widely available Starlink antenna is the Starlink Mini, which is significantly larger than a typical cellphone (about the size of a laptop or

Starship has flown seven times to date, most recently on Jan. 16. That mission was a mixed bag; SpaceX caught Super Heavy with the "chopstick" arms of Starbase's launch tower about seven minutes after liftoff as planned, but Ship suffered a serious problem and ended up detonating over the Atlantic Ocean.

SpaceX is slated to launch its Starship for the eighth time from Boca Chica, Texas, Friday, though plans could be thwarted if the FAA fails to give the green light.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced the plan after the FAA laid off roughly 400 probationary employees.