After a string of high-profile failures, SpaceX's Starship saw spectacular success in its 10th test flight yesterday, August 26. After two days of weather delays, the latest iteration of Starship - the world's biggest and most powerful launch vehicle - launched from SpaceX's Starbase facility on the Texas Gulf Coast at 18:30 CDT (23:30 UTC). And within around an hour, both the booster stage and upper stage had successfully performed gentle splashdowns after a near-faultless flight test.
It was a much-needed win for Starship, in a year that has so far been marked by explosive failures. Test flights 7 and 8 in January and March both saw the spaceship's upper stage explode on its ascent into space. The 9th test in May saw the upper stage spin out of control and burn up on reentry, while the booster stage exploded before landing. And in preparation for what was meant to be Starship's 10th test in June, the spacecraft exploded on the launch stand. This time, though, both stages appeared to perform as planned, with SpaceX reporting:
Every major objective was met, providing critical data to inform designs of the next generation Starship and Super Heavy.
Watch this video of the launch.
Milestones for Starship on 10th test flight
Having been propelled out of Earth's lower atmosphere by the Super Heavy booster, Starship's upper stage surpassed its performance in the previous three tests by reaching a sub-orbital trajectory. And in a milestone for the spacecraft, it then successfully deployed eight dummy Starlink satellites.
SpaceX had planned to stress-test the upper stage during reentry into the atmosphere, and flaps could be seen burning and melting as the 170-foot-tall (51 meters) craft fell back to Earth. But Starship remained under control throughout, and succeeded in righting itself before its planned splashdown and explosion in the Indian Ocean.
After two consecutive scrubs, SpaceX's Starship vehicle launched on Tuesday night. The test aims to show that the mammoth rocket is capable of achieving key flight goals. nyti.ms/45EqU8I
[image or embed]
-- The New York Times (@nytimes.com) August 27, 2025 at 9:50 AM
Halfway across the globe, the booster stage performed a controlled landing in the Gulf of Mexico. This stage is designed to be caught by huge mechanical arms, as has been demonstrated in three previous tests. But this time, SpaceX chose an ocean landing as part of a test to see if the booster could still land if one of its 3 center engines failed. And with an engine intentionally shut down, the booster compensated with a backup engine to achieve a smooth landing.
Bottom line: SpaceX's Starship - the world's biggest and most powerful launch vehicle - launched from SpaceX's Starbase facility on the Texas Gulf Coast on August 26, 2025. And it saw spectacular success!