SpaceX Starship Flight 10 Achieves Major Success as the 10th Launch of the World’s Largest Rocket

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The recent Starship Flight 10 executed by SpaceX marked a significant achievement for the company, fulfilling all key test flight objectives. Launched from Boca Chica, Texas, at 6:30 PM local time, the mission successfully saw both the booster and the spacecraft land as intended. This successful flight serves as a pivotal moment for SpaceX, especially in light of the challenges faced throughout the year concerning the rocket’s upper stage.

SpaceX’s Success in Starship Flight 10 Accelerates Future Testing Opportunities

After liftoff, all 33 engines on the Super Heavy booster ignited successfully, propelling the rocket skyward. However, roughly one minute and thirty seconds into the flight, one engine experienced failure, which prevented relighting during the mission. This anomaly was relatively minor when considering the overall success of the booster’s performance, which achieved its intended flight goals.

In Starship Flight 10, the Super Heavy booster detached from the second stage, successfully reigniting its engines for a boost-back maneuver before safely splashing down in the Gulf of Mexico. Dan Huot, SpaceX’s presenter, noted that the angle of attack conditions were adjusted for this flight, enhancing the likelihood of a successful water landing. This improvement came after the previous Flight 9 ended in the loss of the rocket before reaching the water.

Rocket launches into the sky over a coastal landscape at sunrise. — SpaceX’s Starship rocket ascending during Flight 10. Image: SpaceX

As with earlier flights, the upper stage Starship was the highlight of the mission. SpaceX lined up a series of objectives, including igniting a Raptor engine in space, deploying Starlink simulator satellites, and testing new heat shield tiles. Remarkably, the mission successfully executed all three tests: the satellites were launched, and the Raptor engine was ignited in space for the second time.

These milestones are particularly noteworthy, considering SpaceX had previously struggled to launch satellites and had aborted engine ignition tests on the second-generation Starship upper stage. After the successful engine ignition, the next challenge was the evaluation of the heat shield during atmospheric reentry.

Starship’s innovative heat shield is engineered for reusability, aimed at increasing the frequency of launches. During reentry, SpaceX intentionally put the heat shield to the test by removing tiles from critical areas. Despite the added challenge, the spacecraft successfully splashed down in the Indian Ocean.

Notably, the spacecraft managed to land perfectly despite sustaining damage to one of its lower flaps during reentry. The Starship executed a flip maneuver—a complex operation requiring the coordination of its four flaps—before splashing down an hour and six minutes after takeoff, completing an entirely successful test flight.

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