SpaceX launches Starship on 9th test flight, crashes Super Heavy rocket
SpaceX successfully launched its Starship Super Heavy rocket on its ninth test flight from the company's Starbase facility near Boca Chica Beach, South Texas, early Wednesday.The much-anticipated liftoff, which took place at 5:00 am IST, marked a critical milestone in SpaceX's quest to develop a fully reusable heavy-lift rocket system capable of carrying humans to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.advertisementThe mission, dubbed Starship Flight 9, featured the Super Heavy booster—making its second flight after debuting earlier this year on Flight 7—paired with Ship 35.WATCH STARSHIP SUPER HEAVY LAUNCH
Unlike previous attempts, which ended in mid-flight failures, this test aimed to demonstrate improved reliability and performance.The booster performed a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico, foregoing the ambitious 'catch' attempt by the launch tower's robotic arms, which SpaceX has deferred to future missions.The flight also included several in-flight experiments crucial for validating the system's reusability and robustness. 29 of the 33 Raptor engines on the Super Heavy booster were ignited, and the mission successfully executed a hot-staging maneuver for stage separation—key steps toward operational launches.
Starship Super Heavy launched from Boca Chica. (Photo: SpaceX)
advertisementThe Starship upper stage carried eight Starlink simulator satellites before targeting a splashdown in the Indian Ocean, further testing the spacecraft's orbital and reentry capabilities.The Starship, however, failed to deploy the Starlink simulants as the deployment door failed to open. Local authorities had implemented road closures around Starbase through May 29 to ensure public safety, as the dynamic nature of test flights often leads to last-minute schedule changes.This ninth test flight comes after two consecutive failures earlier in 2025, making today's mission a crucial step in SpaceX's iterative approach to rocket development.Hotstaging and sporty flip! :)COME ON SHIP 35! pic.twitter.com/Tv1XcjSJfv— NSF - NASASpaceflight.com (@NASASpaceflight) May 27, 2025With each flight, SpaceX gathers valuable data, moving closer to its goal of routine, cost-effective space travel and cementing Starship's role in humanity's future beyond Earth.The FAA had said in a statement approving Starship's next flight that it was in "close contact and collaboration" with the United Kingdom, Turks and Caicos Islands, Bahamas, Mexico and Cuba - where Starship flies over or near on its path to space - as it monitors SpaceX's regulatory compliance in future flights.The FAA expanded a predetermined keep-out zone, or Aircraft Hazard Area, on Starship's flight path from 885 nautical miles to 1,600 nautical miles, extending eastward from SpaceX's launch site on the southern Texas coast and through the Straits of Florida, including the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands.Elon Musk is counting on Starship to fulfill his goal of producing a large, multipurpose next-generation spacecraft capable of sending people and cargo to the moon later this decade and ultimately flying to Mars.Must Watch
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