On Thursday, SpaceX aims to launch Starship for the third time

After U.S. regulators gave the green light for launch, SpaceX will try to launch its massive Starship rocket for the third time early Thursday morning.

After it opens at 7:00 a.m. CT, the corporation has 110 minutes to finish the launch. Starship testing is carried out from SpaceX's expansive Starbase location close to Boca Chica, Texas; nevertheless, the launch will be broadcast live on the company's website and the social media platform X beginning at 6:30 a.m. CT.

Thus far, SpaceX has launched the 400-foot-tall rocket on two test missions. The first one happened in April of last year, and it ended with the Super Heavy booster and the upper stage—also known as Starship—exploding in midair. During the second orbital test flight, the company made significant progress, even if the vehicle was ultimately destroyed.

These are called anomalies, a polite phrase used in the industry to describe everything from small component failures to dramatic explosions, like in the case of Starship launches. In the event of any anomaly during a rocket launch, an inquiry conducted by the business is overseen by the Federal Aviation Administration. All that remained was for the regulator to grant a launch license for the trial flight because the inquiry into the second Starship launch concluded last month.

As part of that investigation and as part of its broader practice of iterative hardware design, SpaceX implemented a number of hardware upgrades and modifications.

There are several ways in which this test raises the stakes. The corporation wants to show off new capabilities, such as opening and closing the cargo door of the upper stage, relighting a Raptor engine in space, and demonstrating fuel transfer. The corporation is also aiming for a new flight trajectory, with the upper stage splashing down in the Indian Ocean, as a result of the in-space engine burn.