SpaceX launches Starship on 9th test flight after two failures | Video

SpaceX successfully launched its colossal Starship rocket once again on Tuesday evening, pushing forward with its most ambitious test flight to date. The mission included the deployment of mock satellites and targeted a splashdown in the Indian Ocean.

The towering 403-foot (123-metre) Starship lifted off from Starbase, SpaceX’s launch facility located at the southernmost tip of Texas. This latest launch marked the ninth demonstration of the company’s next-generation spacecraft.

In a significant milestone, the test featured a reused booster for the first time. The booster separated mid-flight and proceeded towards a planned splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico. Unlike previous missions, there were “no attempts to recover the booster using the giant ‘chopsticks’ landing arms at the launch site.”

Tuesday’s launch introduced several notable firsts for SpaceX’s Starship programme. For the first time, the spacecraft was tasked with releasing “eight dummy satellites,” which served as stand-ins for SpaceX’s Starlink internet satellites.

The flight was expected to conclude with the rocket “plunging into the Indian Ocean,” thousands of miles from its launch site at Starbase, Texas — a move designed to simulate real-world mission conditions.

The ambitious test follows two high-profile failures earlier this year, when Starship test flights “ended just minutes after liftoff, disintegrating over the Caribbean.” The successful execution of Tuesday’s objectives signals renewed momentum for SpaceX’s next-generation launch system.