One way or another, Starhopper about to make its final flight

Enlarge / A view of Starhopper in July. (credit: Trevor Mahlmann for Ars)

As soon as Monday afternoon, SpaceX may attempt a second flight for its Starship prototype named "Starhopper." The stubby vehicle, which resembles a water tower, will seek to make a controlled flight to 150 meters above the ground before returning to land safely at SpaceX's test site in South Texas.

One month ago, Starhopper made its first untethered flight, rising about 20 meters. Although smoke from the vehicle's single Raptor engine shrouded most of that test flight from view, it came off successfully and validated the company's ability to control the Raptor engine in flight.

This weekend, Cameron County officials notified residents in Boca Chica Village, near the test site, that the company plans to conduct a flight test from 4pm to 4:15pm CT Monday, and "there is a risk that a malfunction of the SpaceX vehicle during flight will create an overpressure event that can break windows." The Brownsville Herald reported that residents were advised to go outside during the test, which would be signaled 10 minutes in advance by a siren, for their safety. In its latest approval, the Federal Aviation Administration mandated that SpaceX purchase $100 million in liability insurance.