SpaceX's Starship Super Heavy rocket returns to launch pad (photos)

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SpaceX is prepping the booster and spaceship for an orbital test flight later this year.

The Super Heavy Booster 7 to support Starship rolls to the launch pad on Aug. 6.
The SpaceX Super Heavy rocket prototype known as Booster 7 rolls to the launch pad on Aug. 6. (Image credit: SpaceX/Elon Musk)

SpaceX has rolled the latest version of its massive Super Heavy rocket back to the launch pad.

The "Booster 7" Super Heavy rocket prototype moved to a launch pad at Starbase, SpaceX's South Texas facility, overnight on Friday (Aug. 5) for testing, which is apparently happening today (Aug. 8). You can head over to NASA Spaceflight's YouTube stream if you want to see what's happening live.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk shared the arrival milestone in tweets from Starbase on Saturday (Aug. 6). "At launch pad," he tweeted with a photo, adding, "I love the smell of hydraulic fuel in the morning."

SpaceX is working to get Booster 7 and its Starship upper-stage spacecraft ready for the program's first-ever orbital test flight, which the company aims to launch in the next few months.

Photos: SpaceX lifts huge Super Heavy rocket onto launch stand

Starship includes a first-stage booster, Super Heavy, and an upper stage vehicle called Starship that is 165 feet (50 meters) tall. 

When fully stacked, Starship and Super Heavy stand 395 feet (120 m) tall, making the combination the world's tallest rocket. SpaceX plans to use the stacked system to send humans and cargo to the moon for NASA, then move on to Mars. 

That said, Starship has completed just a few high-altitude test flights to date, and the system hasn't taken to the air since May 2021. 

SpaceX has been dealing with hurdles both technical and regulatory. For example, a recently issued environmental assessment by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requires SpaceX to complete 75 actions to mitigate Starship's impact on the surrounding area, which is a biodiversity hotspot.

Related stories:

— Starship and Super Heavy: SpaceX's Mars-colonizing transportation system

— Elon Musk says SpaceX could launch a Starship to the moon 'probably sooner' than 2024: report

— SpaceX launches Starship SN15 rocket and sticks the landing in high-altitude test flight

SpaceX still needs a launch license from the FAA before sending Starship around the world on its ambitious orbital flight, which in turn, requires the company to address all the environmental issues raised in the agency review.

"The environmental review must be completed along with public safety, national security, and other analyses before a decision on whether to grant a launch license can be made. The license application is still pending," the FAA wrote of the matter on June 13.

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Elizabeth Howell
Elizabeth Howell
Staff Writer, Spaceflight

Elizabeth Howell (she/her), Ph.D., is a staff writer in the spaceflight channel since 2022 specializing in Canadian space news. She was contributing writer for Space.com for 10 years before joining full-time. Elizabeth's reporting includes multiple exclusives with the White House, speaking several times with the International Space Station, witnessing five human spaceflight launches on two continents, flying parabolic, working inside a spacesuit, and participating in a simulated Mars mission. Her latest book, "Why Am I Taller?" (ECW Press, 2022) is co-written with astronaut Dave Williams.