Wednesday 24 September 2025 13:51 BST Comments Support Now From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story. The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it. Your support makes all the difference. Read more SpaceX has completed the final major test ahead of a critical flight test of its Mars-bound Starship rocket. The upper stage of the rocket performed a static fire of its six raptor engines while anchored to the launch pad at SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Texas on Monday, with the launch expected to take place in the coming days or weeks. It will be the eleventh flight test for the world’s biggest and most powerful rocket, which SpaceX boss Elon Musk hopes to use to send astronauts to Mars in 2029. Starship is also being developed to deliver crew and cargo to the surface of the Moon as part of Nasa’s Artemis program. The next flight test will follow a similar profile to the previous two Starship flights, with the upper stage launching from Starbase and splashing down in the Indian Ocean. SpaceX has suffered a series of disappointing Starship launches in 2025, with only the most recent flight test on 26 August proving successful. The setbacks have forced Nasa to push back its schedule for its Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years. The lunar landing was originally set to take place in 2024, however challenges with the development of the Starship Human Landing System (HLS) mean the crewed flight is now expected to take place no earlier than mid-2027. open image in gallery