In order to accomplish objectives that have not yet been met in 2025, SpaceX has scheduled its enormous Starship and Super Heavy rocket for its tenth suborbital test flight.
Watch the ninth flight test of Starship at https://t.co/UIwbeGoo2B.This link: https://t.co/gbQv9akMO9
SpaceX August 15, 2025 (@SpaceX)
During a one-hour window that begins at 7:30 p.m. EDT, SpaceX’s Texas launch site, Starbase, is aiming for liftoff with the most potent rocket to ever reach orbit.
Destructive debris was seen in the skies from Florida, the Bahamas, and the Caribbean after the upper stage of the rocket’s first two launch attempts this year had explosive ends. The upper stage of a third launch was lost over the Indian Ocean.
At least the booster has had some success this year, including a reflight of the booster and the second-ever catch at the launch site.
On the tenth trip, however, there will be no attempt to grab the booster back. The upper stage will aim to accomplish objectives that were performed unsuccessfully on the three previous launches, while SpaceX will attempt a controlled landing over the Gulf waters to test out some severe emergency landing profiles.
This includes launching a side hatch of eight mass simulators, which are the same size as the company’s Starlink satellites, as part of the initial payload deployment.
Once more, the goal of the flight path is to land the upper stage in the Indian Ocean off the western coast of Australia, more than halfway around the planet.
During its suborbital flight, the crew also aims to relight one of the six Raptor engines in the upper stage.
According to a post on the SpaceX website, the flight test consists of multiple experiments designed to allow the upper stage of the Starship to return to the launch site. In order to stress-test sensitive regions throughout the vehicle during reentry, a sizable number of tiles have been removed from Starship.
In an attempt to experiment with different materials for heat protection during reentry, the company offers a variety of metallic tile alternatives, including one with active cooling.
This year has seen some explosive finishes, but the corporation may yet face some kind of doom.
According to the corporation, the purpose of the starship’s reentry profile is to purposefully push the upper stage’s rear flaps’ structural limits at the point of maximum entry dynamic pressure. The design of the next generation of Starship and Super Heavy vehicles is still being informed by the valuable lessons learned from flight tests.
SpaceX is looking for two Starship launch locations on the Space Coast, although all test flights have come from Texas thus far.
Though it has not yet executed an orbital launch, Starship is the largest and most potent rocket to reach space, standing over 400 feet tall and with a booster that generates over 16 million pounds of thrust during liftoff.
At Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39-A, next to the area where it presently launches Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets, a tower is already being built.
After the last Delta IV Heavy launch in 2024, United Launch Alliance vacated Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, and SpaceX has been spearheading the effort to remove the launch site infrastructure. It intends to maintain its Canaveral location for Falcon 9 launches at Space Launch Complex 40 while constructing a Starship launch facility there.
Before proceeding with its Florida plans, SpaceX is awaiting the completion of an environmental impact assessment. As part of a $1.8 billion infrastructure enhancement project, construction is still underway at KSC on a new production site to fabricate the Super Heavy boosters and upper stages of the Starship.
Although SpaceX intends to operate Starship flights from the two Space Coast locations, with up to 120 launches annually, Texas will remain the testbed launch location.
