Starship launched from Starbase in south Texas just after 6:30 p.m. and deployed eight dummy satellites into space during its 10th test. The vehicle coasted for just over an hour before splashing down as planned in the Indian Ocean. The Super Heavy Booster returned successfully, splashing down in the Atlantic after a landing-burn engine sequence. Starship orbited the Earth, passing from daylight into night and back to daylight, then fired engines to enter the water upright with the nose cone pointed upward. The mission followed earlier test failures and a subsequent booster redesign.
The test also included the successful return of the craft's Super Heavy Booster, which splashed down in the Atlantic after testing a landing-burn engine sequence. The Starship itself continued to orbit the Earth - passing from daylight in Texas through night and back into daytime again - ahead of the planned splashdown. Before the craft hit the waves, its engines fired, flipping its position so it entered the water upright with the nose cone pointed upward.
The successful demo came after a year of mishaps. Back-to-back tests in January and March ended just minutes after liftoff, raining wreckage into the ocean. The most recent test in May - the ninth try - ended when the spacecraft tumbled out of control and broke apart. SpaceX later redesigned the Super Heavy booster with larger and stronger fins for greater stability, according to a company post on the social platform X this month.
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