The world's largest and most powerful rocket is set to launch for the eighth time, following a mid-air explosion over the Caribbean Sea during its most recent test. The rocket is scheduled to lift off from SpaceX's Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas, at 5:30 p.m. on March 3, US time (6:30 a.m. on March 4, Vietnam time). Elon Musk's company will live-stream the event on its official website during the launch, which is expected to last more than an hour.

The 123m-tall Starship, designed to be fully reusable, is a key part of Musk and SpaceX's vision for colonizing Mars. SpaceX says it has upgraded its upper stage to improve reliability and performance. NASA is also looking to upgrade the Starship for its Artemis program, which will take astronauts back to the Moon.

Previously, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had banned the launch of the Starship rocket after a failed test on January 16, when the rocket's upper stage caught fire and exploded in mid-air before falling to the Turks and Caicos Islands. However, on February 28, the FAA allowed SpaceX to resume Starship test launches after the company completed an investigation into the January 16 incident.

SpaceX has ambitious space exploration goals and must ensure that its Starship rockets can be launched safely for future manned flights. The company also needs to demonstrate sophisticated orbital refueling capabilities—using other spacecraft as fuel tankers—to enable long-distance space travel.

According to Minh Tam/VNA