SpaceX’s most ambitious Starship flight yet will see reused hardware, the deployment of 10 fake satellites and another attempt to catch the booster with “chopsticks”

SpaceX is gearing up to launch Starship for its seventh test flight, attempting to deploy Starlink mock-ups from the rocket for the first time. Starship is set for liftoff as early as Friday, January 10,

SpaceX aims to launch the seventh Starship flight test on Jan. 10. It will mark the first time the company attempts to deploy a payload during the flight.

The South Texas commercial space company has two objectives with this flight: landing its booster and demonstrating its ability to carry payloads.

CEO Elon Musk says the next Starship flight test will take place Jan. 10 and will involve a new generation ship with major upgrades.

Elon Musk's SpaceX said on Friday its upcoming Starship test flight would include the rocket's first attempt to deploy payloads in space by releasing 10 model Starlink satellites, a key demonstration for Starship's potential in the satellite launch market.

SpaceX successfully launched 21 Starlink satellites from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday. The launch comes after SpaceX recently sent 24 of the communication satellites to low-Earth orbit.

Check back for live FLORIDA TODAY Space Team launch updates on this page, starting about 90 minutes before today’s morning launch window opens.

Following stage separation, the booster landed on the SpaceX drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic Ocean roughly 8 minutes after liftoff.