The Starship Flight 9 launch, as it's called, is scheduled to launch no earlier than today, May 27, at 7:30 p.m. EDT (2330 GMT) from SpaceX's Starbase test site near Boca Chica Beach in South Texas. Like its name suggests, this will be the ninth test flight of the giant SpaceX rocket, but it is the first to attempt to reuse the giant Super Heavy booster, the first stage of Starship.
It comes after two failed launches this year, Flight 7 and Flight 8, in January and March, respectively. On those flights, SpaceX successfully returned its Super Heavy booster to Earth in back-to-back rocket catches at with giant chopsticks, but the Ship stage of the rocket failed shortly after liftoff.
SpaceX is currently targeting a 7:30 p.m. EDT (2330 GMT) launch time for Flight 9 on May 27, but that time could shift depending on the vehicle's status. It will be 6:30 p.m. local time in Texas. SpaceX has not listed a specific window for the flight, but has followed 30-minute windows in the past, which could put the launch anytime between 7:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. EDT (2330-0000 GMT), if the company does so again.
The launch date, itself, is a no earlier than date, but local officials for the area around SpaceX's Starbase have announced road closures for the area through May 29, suggesting back up days on May 28 and May 29 are possible.
Source: www.space.com
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