SpaceX Starship launches 8 test satellites, splashes down in Indian Ocean

SpaceX successfully conducted the latest test flight of its massive Starship rocket on Tuesday night, marking the first-ever deployment of a test payload — eight dummy satellites — into orbit. After coasting through space for just over an hour, Starship splashed down as planned in the Indian Ocean.

The rocket lifted off from SpaceX’s Starbase in south Texas shortly after 6:30 p.m. This marked the 10th test of the world’s largest and most powerful rocket, which SpaceX and NASA aim to use for future lunar missions.

NASA has contracted two Starships to carry astronauts to the moon later this decade, while SpaceX CEO Elon Musk envisions missions to Mars. No crew members were aboard this demonstration launch.

The test also saw the successful return of Starship’s Super Heavy Booster, which landed in the Gulf of Mexico after executing a landing-burn engine sequence. Meanwhile, the Starship orbited Earth, moving from daylight in Texas through night and back into daytime, before firing its engines to flip upright and enter the water nose-first.

The successful mission follows a year of setbacks. Earlier tests in January and March ended minutes after liftoff, scattering debris into the ocean. The ninth test in May ended when the spacecraft tumbled uncontrollably and broke apart.

SpaceX recently redesigned the Super Heavy booster with larger, stronger fins for improved stability, the company said on X this month. The very first Starship exploded minutes into its 2023 inaugural flight.

SpaceX first launched Starlink satellites in 2019 from a Falcon rocket at Cape Canaveral.