SpaceX’s Starship megarocket successfully launched on its tenth test flight Tuesday, showing significant progress after multiple explosive setbacks had raised concerns about its future. Standing at 403 feet (123 meters), Starship is the most powerful rocket ever built and central to Elon Musk’s ambition of colonizing Mars, as well as NASA’s Artemis mission to return humans to the Moon.
The rocket lifted off from SpaceX’s Starbase in southern Texas at 6:30 pm local time, cheered on by engineers during a live broadcast. Minutes after launch, the Super Heavy booster safely splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico, producing a sonic boom. Unlike prior attempts, SpaceX didn’t try to catch it using the tower’s arms but instead tested performance under simulated engine failure.
The upper stage of Starship successfully deployed eight mock Starlink satellites—an important milestone. However, some heat shield tiles detached, and part of a control flap burned off during re-entry, which SpaceX expected due to the aggressive flight plan.
Elon Musk praised the team’s efforts. Despite progress, challenges remain—developing a reusable heat shield and enabling in-orbit refueling. NASA’s 2027 Moon mission and Musk’s Mars goals hinge on solving these issues quickly.
