If you’ve been following SpaceX’s Starship journey, you know it’s been a rollercoaster of explosions, fiery crashes, and Elon Musk memes. But on Tuesday evening, the world’s tallest rocket finally gave us a test flight that felt less like a blooper reel and more like a highlight reel.
The 403-foot beast lifted off from Starbase at 7:30 p.m. ET, riding on the firepower of 33 methane-chugging Raptor engines. Just three minutes later, the Super Heavy booster separated cleanly — a move that in itself was smoother than some previous attempts. But here’s where it gets interesting: instead of doing a standard landing burn, SpaceX tried something new. They cut off the main engines mid-descent and switched to backup engines, a kind of “what if things go wrong” stress test. And guess what? It worked. The 232-foot booster nailed a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico.
Meanwhile, the upper stage (aka Starship itself) didn’t just cruise into orbit — it checked off milestones SpaceX has been chasing for years. For the first time ever, the ship opened its Pez-dispenser-style payload doors in space and released eight fake Starlink satellites. That’s a huge deal, because earlier missions couldn’t even get the doors open. Starship also relit a Raptor engine mid-space before heading toward the Indian Ocean, where it splashed down, toppled over… and promptly exploded. (Classic SpaceX ending.)
But here’s the kicker: Starship stayed in constant contact with engineers the whole time. No mid-flight comms blackout, no “lost in space” vibes like the last flight. Add in the successful testing of its upgraded heat shield — including experiments with new tiles and cooling systems — and this flight was a data goldmine.
Sure, there’s still a long way to go before this rocket is ferrying astronauts to the moon in 2027 or shipping cargo to Mars. But Tuesday’s flight showed real, material progress. After a string of fiery failures, SpaceX finally got a win worth celebrating — even if it ended with an explosion. Because let’s be honest… with Starship, that’s basically tradition.
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