SpaceX’s Starship rocket finishes its tenth test flight Tuesday

(MENAFN) SpaceX’s Starship, designed as a fully reusable vehicle to transport crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars, and beyond, successfully completed its 10th test flight Tuesday, with both its booster and upper stage performing controlled splashdowns, the company announced.

“Starship’s tenth flight test lifted off on August 26, 2025, at 6:30 p.m. CT from Starbase, Texas, marking a major step toward the development of the world’s first fully reusable launch vehicle. Every primary objective was achieved, providing essential data for the next-generation Starship and Super Heavy designs,” SpaceX said.

The flight began with the Super Heavy booster lifting off using all 33 Raptor engines and ascending over the Gulf of Mexico. After a successful ascent, Starship’s upper stage performed a hot-staging maneuver, igniting its six Raptor engines to separate from the booster and continue into space.

During the booster’s descent, engines were intentionally switched to test backup systems before shutting down and splashing down safely. Meanwhile, the upper stage completed a payload demonstration by releasing eight mock Starlink satellites and successfully reignited one of its Raptor engines in space.

“The first in-space objective was achieved with the deployment of eight Starlink simulators, marking the first successful payload demonstration from Starship. The vehicle also completed the second-ever in-space Raptor engine restart, a crucial capability for future deorbit burns,” the company added.

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