Starship launched from Starbase in south Texas just after 6:30 p.m., marking the rocket's 10th test. The flight deployed eight dummy satellites into orbit, coasted for just over an hour, and splashed down in the Indian Ocean as planned. The Super Heavy booster successfully returned and splashed down in the Atlantic after a landing-burn engine sequence. Before impact, Starship fired engines to flip upright so it entered the water nose-first with the cone pointed upward. Earlier tests this year experienced failures and a May flight broke apart, prompting a booster redesign with larger, stronger fins. NASA has ordered two Starships for future moon landings; no crew were aboard.
SpaceX launched the latest test of its mega rocket Starship on Tuesday night and completed the first-ever deployment of a test payload - eight dummy satellites - into space. After just over an hour coasting through space, Starship splashed down as planned in the Indian Ocean. Starship blasted off from Starbase, SpaceX's launch site in south Texas, just after 6:30 p.m. It was the 10th test for the world's biggest and most powerful rocket,
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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