SpaceX moves closer to Starship’s 10th flight as Super Heavy booster completes major prelaunch test

Just a week and a half after its latest flight, SpaceX is already making significant strides toward the next launch of its massive Starship rocket. On Friday, June 6, the company successfully conducted a "static fire" test of Starship's enormous first-stage booster, Super Heavy, at its Starbase facility in South Texas. During the impressive trial, all 33 of Super Heavy's powerful Raptor engines ignited, as confirmed by SpaceX in an X post comprising photos and videos of the event, reported Space.com. 

This recent test is a crucial step in preparing Starship for its tenth integrated flight, which involves the powerful Super Heavy booster topped with the Starship upper stage (often called Ship). The most recent launch, Flight 9, took place on May 27 and marked a significant milestone: it was the first time a previously flown Super Heavy booster was utilized. This particular booster had initially launched during Flight 7 in January, successfully returning to Starbase for a remarkable catch by the launch tower's "chopstick" arms. However, during Flight 9, SpaceX opted for a different approach. Instead of attempting a catch, they conducted various experiments with Super Heavy and planned a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico for safety reasons. Unfortunately, the booster didn't complete its descent as intended, breaking apart approximately 6.5 minutes after liftoff, just as it began its landing burn. 

Adding to the complexities of Flight 9, the Ship's upper stage also did not remain intact. While it successfully reached space on a suborbital trajectory, it began tumbling about 30 minutes after liftoff, preventing a planned soft splashdown off the coast of Western Australia. SpaceX subsequently lost contact with the Ship approximately 46 minutes into the flight, with its remnants now likely resting on the Indian Ocean seafloor. Consequently, the US Federal Aviation Administration is requiring an investigation into the events of Flight 9, and Flight 10 cannot proceed until this inquiry is concluded to the agency's satisfaction. 

Despite these recent explosive setbacks and the ongoing investigations surrounding its massive Starship rocket, SpaceX remains steadfast in its ambitious long-term objective of sending humans to Mars by 2026. This unwavering commitment to establishing a self-sustaining civilization of the Red Planet, a decades-long dream of CEO Elon Musk, was a central theme of his recent 42-minute presentation, shared on SpaceX's X account. Musk emphasized during the presentation, "Progress is measured by the timeline to establishing a self-sustaining civilization on Mars," underscoring the relentless dedication to Starship's continued development as the key to unlocking humanity's multi-planetary future. 

Following a successful Starship flight to Mars in 2026, SpaceX envisions a rapid acceleration of its Martian ambitions, projecting approximately 20 Starship missions to the Red Planet between 2028 and 2029, with the potential to carry human passengers. Musk elaborated on the company's strategy, "Assuming the first missions are successful and they land successfully, we'd send humans on the next mission, and we really start building the infrastructure for Mars." He also suggested a potentially more cautious approach, adding, "Maybe, just to be safe, we might just do two landing episodes with Optimus and do the third one with humans. We'll see."