SpaceX Gears Up for Starship’s Next Big Launch
SpaceX Prepares for Starship’s 10th test flight since April 2023, as the Elon Musk-led aerospace company continues developing the massive spacecraft to one day carry humans to the Moon and Mars. Despite its bold vision, progress has moved slower than Musk and his team anticipated.
The fully stacked Starship, nearly 400 feet tall with its Super Heavy booster, has yet to achieve a full orbital flight. Nine uncrewed launches have yielded a mix of partial successes and notable setbacks.
Early Achievements and Suborbital Successes
Between June and November 2024, SpaceX achieved a string of milestones. In three separate flights, Starship traveled halfway around the globe before re-entering Earth’s atmosphere and splashing down in the Indian Ocean as planned. These missions demonstrated the spacecraft’s ability to survive re-entry — a critical step toward future crewed missions.
However, the momentum slowed in 2025. The year’s first three flight tests all fell short of replicating the prior successes. On June 18, Starship exploded while standing alone on a test stand, before technicians could mount it atop the booster.
The May 27 Test: Reuse Milestone, But Flight Cut Short
The most recent flight, on May 27, showcased the reuse of a Super Heavy booster for the first time. This marked a significant milestone in SpaceX’s goal to create a fully reusable rocket system.. The booster successfully separated from the spacecraft, and Starship ignited its six Raptor engines to soar into suborbital space.
Yet, about 46 minutes into the flight, Starship spun out of control and broke apart over the Indian Ocean. SpaceX also lost the booster, which disintegrated during descent over the Gulf of America. The mission failed to deploy its test Starlink satellites, marking another missed objective.
Recurring Challenges in 2025
The March 6 test ended dramatically when the upper stage exploded less than 10 minutes into the flight. SpaceX later identified the cause as a hardware failure in one of the Raptor engines, which led to uncontrolled propellant mixing and ignition.
The January 16 launch also ended in destruction. Just 8 ½ minutes after liftoff, the spacecraft experienced multiple propellant leaks and fires, forcing it to self-destruct. Musk, unfazed, joked on X, “Success is uncertain, but entertainment is guaranteed!”
Notable Moments in 2024
Starship’s 2024 flights delivered some of its most memorable milestones:
- November 19, 2024 – President Donald Trump watched as Starship completed a suborbital flight before splashing down in the Indian Ocean. Mid-mission, SpaceX scrapped plans to catch the booster mid-air due to hardware health concerns.
- October 13, 2024 – SpaceX made history by catching the Super Heavy booster with giant mechanical arms, known as “chopsticks.”
- March 14, 2024 – Starship reached space and conducted in-flight tests before breaking apart during re-entry.
First Flights and Learning Curves
The earliest flights showed the steep learning curve of developing the largest rocket ever built:
- The second test achieved stage separation but ended with explosions of both the booster and the spacecraft.
- The very first test flight, in April 2023, exploded just four minutes after launch when multiple engines failed.
Rather than seeing these as pure failures, SpaceX considers each test a chance to gather data, refine systems, and push closer to an entirely successful mission.
What’s Next for Starship
The upcoming 10th test marks the first launch in more than two months. Engineers have made design improvements based on previous failures, aiming for greater stability, controlled re-entry, and — potentially — successful Starlink satellite deployment.
If SpaceX can achieve these goals, it would be a significant step toward its ultimate objective: building a spacecraft capable of taking humans to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
Conclusion
SpaceX Prepares for Starship’s next milestone after a journey marked by bold achievements, fiery setbacks, and rapid innovation. Each test flight, whether ending in triumph or “rapid unscheduled disassembly,” delivers lessons that bring the company closer to its vision of interplanetary travel. With the 10th test approaching, the world will be watching to see if Starship can finally reach the next level.