SpaceX has successfully launched the Starship rocket for the 11th time.
The 123-meter-tall roared skyward from Starbase in southern Texas on Monday, October 13.
Just a couple of minutes after a flawless launch, the Raptor engines on the upper-stage Ship ignited during hot-staging separation, with the first-stage Super Heavy booster heading back to Earth.
SpaceX then shared this phenomenal tracking shot as the 71-meter-tall Super Heavy booster made a soft, controlled landing on water.
Here’s the Ship coasting through space on a suborbital trajectory.
The Ship then deployed a number of dummy Starlink satellites. In future missions, the Starship will be used to perform satellite deployments not only for Starlink but also for private companies, organizations, and governments.
Here the Ship experiences the most aerodynamic stress as it reenters Earth’s atmosphere.
Finally, 66 minutes after launch, the Ship spacecraft made a soft, controlled landing in the Indian Ocean, bringing the flight test to a close.
SpaceX will have considered the 11th flight test a big success, with the engineers able to analyze reams of data to help them learn more about the rocket’s performance and where improvements can be made.
This could be the final Starship launch of 2025 as the SpaceX team continues work on improving the rocket’s performance. Also, the 12th flight will mark the debut of SpaceX’s next-generation Starship, known as Starship Version 3 (V3), which is a major upgrade over previous models in terms of scale, performance, and technology.
Once fully tested and certified, the Starship rocket will be used for crew and cargo missions to the moon, and even the first human mission to Mars, though the latter is still a long way off.
NASA is planning to use a modified version of the Ship to put two astronauts on the lunar surface in the Artemis III mission, which will take place no earlier than 2027.
