SpaceX's Starship Flight 9 reaches space before losing control of Super Heavy booster

Elon Musk's SpaceX conducted its ninth Starship megarocket launch, a test flight notable for being the first to significantly reuse Starship hardware, on May 27. While the two stages were successfully separated and the upper stage reached space, an improvement over the previous two flights, SpaceX ultimately lost both stages before they could complete their mission objectives. The Starship Flight 9 mission launched at 7:37 p.m. EDT (2337 GMT; 6:37 p.m. local Texas time) from Pad A at Starbase, Texas, per Space.com.

This launch was a milestone launch, as it marked the first time a Super Heavy booster was reused. The particular booster previously flew in January 2025 on the Starship Flight 7 mission, while the first fully integrated Starship-Super Heavy rocket launched in April 2023. Notably, SpaceX replaced only four of its Raptor engines after that mission, meaning 29 of the engines used in the May 27 launch were flight-proven. 

SpaceX faced considerable pressure for a successful launch, yet to achieve a fully successful mission with the Block 2 Starship second stage. This was particularly crucial because NASA was closely monitoring the program. The Block 3 version of Starship was essential for NASA's Artemis 3 mission, which aimed to safely transport astronauts to the Moon's surface. The Lunar landing for Artemis 3 had already been pushed back from late 2026 to no earlier than mid-2027, partly due to the development progress of the Starship rocket, reported Spaceflight Now. 

SpaceX had previously indicated plans for a ship-to-ship propellant transfer demonstration in low Earth orbit during early to mid-2025. However, neither SpaceX nor NASA has offered recent updates on the revised timeline for this crucial test. 

Adding to the anticipation of the Starship Flight 9 launch on Tuesday, May 27, Elon Musk was scheduled to deliver a company address titled "The Road to Making Life Multiplanetary." This talk, which was initially to be live-streamed on SpaceX's account on X for noon CDT (1 p.m. EDT, 1700 UTC) on May 27, was delayed and then did not happen. This talk was also expected to detail Musk's "Mars game plan." It was unclear if the address was also to provide updates on the progress related to SpaceX's contracts with NASA.