A SpaceX Starship prototype flight ended with the craft breaking up over the Indian Ocean on Tuesday 27 May 2025.
This is the latest test flight for the rocket to end in a 'rapid uncontrolled disassembly', with some raising questions around SpaceX CEO Elon Musk’s dream of landing humans on Mars.
"Leaks caused loss of main tank pressure during the coast and re-entry phase. Lot of good data to review," says Elon Musk
Catch up with this story fast with the essential facts:
- SpaceX’s Starship lifted off from the company's Starbase facility in Texas, USA
- It flew farther than ever before but broke apart during re-entry over the Indian Ocean
- The rocket experienced leaks, spinning and failed to deploy its test payload before losing control
- Its first-stage booster exploded instead of achieving a planned splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico
- The upper-stage spaceship then failed to deploy its test payload of Starlink satellite simulators
- SpaceX says contact with Starship was lost 46 minutes into the flight, with debris expected to fall "within the planned hazard area in the Indian Ocean"
- The news follows two previous test flights in January and March 2025 that blew up shortly after launch
- Despite the outcome of this test flight, Elon Musk promises faster launch attempts, aiming for a new test every 3–4 weeks
- Some may see this as a setback for the future of SpaceX launches: in particular its plans to send humans back to the Moon and beyond to Mars
- Yet SpaceX says "Starship’s ninth flight test marked a major milestone for reuse with the first flight-proven Super Heavy booster launching from Starbase, and once more returned Starship to space"
- Space fans and tourists gathered in Texas to witness the historic launch, highlighting the public’s fascination with these rocket launches
Rewatch the launch
Watch what happens when Elon Musk's SpaceX Starship spins out of control
