Starship has flown seven times to date, most recently on Jan. 16. That mission was a mixed bag; SpaceX caught Super Heavy with the "chopstick" arms of Starbase's launch tower about seven minutes after liftoff as planned, but Ship suffered a serious problem and ended up detonating over the Atlantic Ocean.

Elon Musk's SpaceX is preparing for the next test flight of its Starship megarocket on Friday, following a dramatic mid-air explosion over the Caribbean during its last trial.It will mark the eighth test flight of Starship, the largest and most powerful rocket ever built, with SpaceX broadcasting the launch live via webcast.

The latest test comes after the catastrophic failure of the Starship during last flight as it exploded moments after separation from the Super Heavy rocket.