SpaceX went ahead with its ninth test flight of the Starship and Super Heavy rocket system, and yeah—it started off looking really promising. The rocket lifted off right on time from their launch site in Texas, around 6:36 PM local time. Everything seemed to be going according to plan at first. The two parts—the big Super Heavy booster (that’s the bottom part) and the Starship upper stage (that’s the top part)—separated just like they were supposed to.
Seeing a rocket that size take off and actually make it through liftoff and separation? Still impressive every time.
The Booster Didn’t Make It Back
Here’s where things started to fall apart a bit. The Super Heavy booster they used this time was actually a reused one, which was a pretty big deal. SpaceX wanted to see if it could handle coming back down under rougher conditions.
It was supposed to splash down in the Gulf of Mexico. But during the landing burn—you know, when it fires its engines to slow down before hitting the water—something went wrong. One of the engines didn’t ignite properly. And because of that, the booster ended up being destroyed. So yeah, not the ending they were hoping for, but they learned from it.
The Starship Upper Stage Got Far… But Then Lost Control
Now, the Starship upper stage actually made it to orbital speed, which is no small thing. It looked like it was going to finish the rest of the mission. Part of what they wanted to do was test deploying some fake Starlink satellites—basically just mass simulators to see how deployment would work.
But that didn’t happen. During the coast phase—where the rocket kind of floats in orbit before doing anything else—it ran into trouble. There was a fuel tank leak. That caused it to lose control. So, instead of gliding back to Earth the way it was supposed to, it just kind of broke apart over the Indian Ocean during reentry. Rough.
Why It Still Matters (Even If Stuff Broke)
You’d think with all that going wrong, the mission would be a bust. But honestly, it wasn’t. The big win here is the data. SpaceX is still figuring out how to make all of this work, and every test—even the messy ones—helps them get closer.
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This was the first time they tried reusing the Super Heavy booster. That’s a huge step toward making these things fly more often and cost less.
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They found out more about what works (and what doesn’t) when it comes to controlling the upper stage after it reaches space.
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And the FAA gave them the green light to launch after checking their new safety measures, which shows they’re improving on past problems.
So yeah, it wasn’t perfect. But that’s kind of how this stuff goes. It’s all trial and error.
What’s Next for SpaceX?
From what it sounds like, SpaceX isn’t slowing down. They’re already working on fixing the things that went wrong in this flight. A few updates to the rocket, better checks for leaks, and more work on making sure those engines fire when they’re supposed to.
There’s talk that the next launch might happen pretty soon. No exact date yet, but they clearly want to keep the momentum going. Every flight teaches them something new—and even the bad landings help them figure out how to make the next one better.
