SpaceX’s Starship rocket lifts off from Starbase, Texas, on Aug. 26 for its tenth test flight. Photo by Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP via Getty Images
It’s been a fiery few months for Starship, the 400-foot-tall SpaceX rocket at the heart of Elon Musk’s ambitions to colonize Mars. Several recent test flights ended in failure, with prototypes exploding or losing their upper-stage spacecraft. But at 7:30 p.m. ET last night (Aug. 26), SpaceX pulled off a stunning comeback, successfully completing its tenth Starship test.
The prototype lifted off from Starbase, Texas—a SpaceX development site in Boca Chica that was recently incorporated as a city. Its booster’s 33 engines powered the rocket skyward before separating and splashing down in the Gulf of Mexico. The upper stage then ignited its six engines, continued toward orbit, and later returned safely to Earth, landing in the Indian Ocean.
Sean Duffy, NASA’s acting administrator, congratulated SpaceX in a post on X. Starship is not only central to Musk’s Mars ambitions but also a key part of NASA’s plan to return astronauts to the Moon. “This is a great day for NASA and our commercial space partners,” said Duffy.
The flight followed a two-day delay caused by hardware issues and poor weather. It also came after a string of setbacks. The seventh, eighth and ninth Starship flights all failed: a January attempt ended when the vehicle disintegrated during atmospheric reentry due to a leak; a May launch lost engine power and control mid-ascent; and another test in May resulted in an unexpected explosion.
Starship’s tenth go delivered several firsts. The rocket deployed a payload demonstration by releasing eight dummy Starlink simulators while in space. It also achieved its second-in-space relight of an upper-stage engine—a key step toward future deorbit capabilities.
SpaceX has long taken a “learn as you go” approach to its tests, racking up incremental milestones along the way. In October, for example, the company successfully retrieved a booster by catching it in a launch pad tower’s “chopstick” mechanical arms.
Musk’s next goals include regaining control of the upper stage to make it reusable and demonstrating orbital refueling, a capability SpaceX hopes to test next year. “No one has ever demonstrated propellant transfer in orbit, to the best of our knowledge,” Musk said on an Aug. 25 livestream.
Deadlines loom. NASA has multibillion-dollar contracts with SpaceX, with Starship slated to play a role in crewed Artemis Moon landings. Musk, meanwhile, is aiming for an uncrewed Starship mission to Mars in late 2026, followed by crewed flights in 2028 and 2029. He has called the 2026 target a “50/50 chance,” citing orbital refueling as a major hurdle.
Despite the challenges, Musk remains bullish. “I’m confident that the SpaceX team, which is incredibly talented, will achieve these goals and we will be landing ships on Mars in the future, building greenhouses and life on Mars, and ensuring the long-term survival of life as we know it,” he said earlier this week.
