Elon Musk’s SpaceX on Tuesday launched its giant Starship rocket for the 10th test flight, aiming to overcome past setbacks and prove key milestones for the reusable Mars-bound system.
The 403-foot-tall vehicle blasted off from SpaceX’s Starbase in south Texas at 7.30pm EST (2330 GMT), testing new heat shield tiles, a redesigned engine landing system, and a satellite deployment mechanism.
As planned, Starship’s upper stage separated from its Super Heavy booster, which ditched into the Gulf of Mexico instead of attempting a tower catch. The spacecraft then re-entered Earth’s atmosphere before splashing down in the Indian Ocean — surviving a re-entry phase that destroyed earlier prototypes.
In another first, Starship successfully deployed mock Starlink satellites using its “Pez-like” dispenser system, a milestone missed in previous tests.
