Awaiting Launch: SpaceX's Giant Rocket Starship, Flight 9, Ready to Fly - Massive SpaceX rocket Starship set for imminent launch on its ninth test flight.
Ninth Test Flight of SpaceX's Behemoth Starship Rocket Concludes in Explosion Over the Indian Ocean
SpaceX's colossal Starship rocket, standing 123 meters tall and boasting unprecedented power, faced another setback during its ninth test flight on May 27, 2025, as an explosion ripped through the vehicle mid-air. The explosion occurred approximately 20 minutes into the flight, with the upper stage losing control, spinning out of orientation, and ultimately disintegrating during uncontrolled reentry over the Indian Ocean.
Earlier in the flight, the rocket had executed the hot-staging maneuver to separate the Super Heavy booster from the Starship upper stage successfully, and completed a boostback burn as planned. However, during the coast and re-entry phase leaks led to a loss of main tank pressure, resulting in the loss of control in orientation.
Like its predecessors, the mission aimed to repeat a suborbital trajectory and accomplish objectives such as the first payload deployment from Starship and conducting multiple reentry experiments. This ninth flight was notable for using a flight-proven Super Heavy booster for the first time, with the intention of performing a hard splashdown offshore instead of being caught by the launch tower.
Despite the failure, SpaceX considers this flight a significant improvement over previous attempts, with successful engine cutoffs and no significant heat shield tile loss during ascent. In response to the explosion, SpaceX's CEO, Elon Musk, announced plans to increase the launch cadence, aiming for approximately one flight every three to four weeks.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had closed airspace within a 1600 nautical mile radius around the Texas launch site for this test. This exclusion zone was significantly larger than in previous test flights.
Surprisingly, despite the explosion and failure to complete the mission, SpaceX managed to deploy satellite dummies in the atmosphere for the first time. With much-needed data in hand, the company continues its relentless pursuit of proving Starship's reliability and establishing its capability for future payload deployment and return missions.
[1] https://arstechnica.com/science/2025/05/spacexs-ninth-starship-test-ends-in-explosion-over-the-indian-ocean/[2] https://www.cnet.com/tech/space/spacexs-most-recent-starship-test-ends-in-explosion-above-the-bahamas/[3] https://www.theverge.com/2025/05/27/23728268/spacex-starship-test-flight-explosion-indian-ocean[4] https://www.space.com/spacex-starship-flight-9-failure-analysis-what-went-wrong.html
SpaceX's Starship rocket, originally intended to test various features in the ninth flight from Texas, showcased its potential in science and technology despite the mid-air explosion over the Indian Ocean. Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, remains optimistic about future test flights, aiming to increase the launch cadence and further contribut to space-and-astronomy advancements.
