SpaceX Reschedules Starship Launch On May 21

Indian viewers can watch the launch of the Starship rocket on May 21, 2026. The launch window will be open between 5:30 PM Indian Standard Time (IST) and 7 PM IST. SpaceX mentions that a live webcast of the flight test will start 45 minutes before the launch of the Starship rocket. Viewers can catch the liftoff live on SpaceX’s official website, YouTube channel, X (formerly known as Twitter) handle, or on the X TV app.

The primary objective of this space mission is to evaluate the performance of the next-generation Starship and Super Heavy vehicles under real flight conditions. SpaceX has included design changes learned from the previous test flights, with a focus on improving the rocket’s performance and reusability. Both these factors are critical, as the company has a long-term goal of making space travel significantly more affordable.

The fully integrated launch stack comprises a 236-foot Super Heavy booster fitted with 33 Raptor engines and a 171-foot upper-stage spacecraft. During the test, the Super Heavy booster is expected to land in the Gulf of Mexico, while the mission may also deploy more than 20 Starlink satellites.

The latest iteration of Starship is designed with more demanding missions in mind, including crewed lunar landings under NASA’s Artemis programme. One of its key capabilities is in-space refuelling, which would allow the vehicle to travel further into the solar system than any previous SpaceX rocket.