Starship’s first two flight tests of 2025 ended in dramatic explosions – significant setbacks as Elon Musk and SpaceX have sought to accelerate the spacecraft’s development.
SpaceX Starship debris falls to Earth after rocket ‘disassembly’
SpaceX said it lost contact with its Starship rocket, which Elon Musk’s company said “experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly.”
- Photos and video the company shared on social media site X reveal that preparations are underway for the ninth flight test of the massive rocket.
- SpaceX also recently received key regulatory approval to increase the number of Starship launches from Texas to 25 per year.
- The company was in the news recently when voters approved a measure to incorporate its Starbase headquarters as an official city.
SpaceX’s massive Starship rocket could be on the cusp of flying again.
Video and photos shared on social media show that the commercial spaceflight company, owned by billionaire Elon Musk, is preparing the Starship spacecraft for what will be its ninth-ever flight test. The vehicle, composed of both a capsule and rocket, is in development and has been undergoing demonstrations since 2023.
The upcoming launch, which could occur sometime in May, would come at a critical time for both SpaceX and Musk, who has recently distanced himself from the White House as public perception of the tech mogul has become increasingly polarized.
Starship’s first two flight tests of 2025 ended in dramatic explosions that sent cascades of fiery debris streaking across the sky – significant setbacks as Musk and SpaceX have sought to accelerate the spacecraft’s development.
But in a positive development for the company, SpaceX recently received key regulatory approval to increase the number of Starship launches from South Texas.
Here’s everything to know so far about the next Starship launch, and what could be ahead in 2025:
SpaceX rocket launch: When is the next Starship flight test?
SpaceX has not yet announced a target launch date for its Starship, but photos and video the company shared on social media site X reveal that preparations are underway.
The company recently performed a “static fire” test of the rocket’s upper stage, igniting one of the vehicle’s six Raptor engines, SpaceX wrote in a post on May 1.
How to watch Starship rocket launch
When the day of the launch does arrive, SpaceX will host a livestream of the flight test on its website and on social media platform X. Coverage will also be available on SpaceX’s on new X TV app.
USA TODAY Network’s Space Team also will provide live coverage of the Starship launch.
How many Starship launches will be in 2025? FAA approves more
Musk, who has sought to ramp up testing in 2025 of the Starship vehicle, tallied a win when the Federal Aviation Administration gave him the greenlight Tuesday, May 6, to do so.
The approval from the FAA for SpaceX to conduct 25 Starship launches per year came after Musk months ago submitted a proposal to the agency, which licenses commercial rocket launches. In 2024, SpaceX conducted just four tests of the Starship.
The rocket is due to play a massive role in the U.S. space program under President Donald Trump. Musk said he spent more than a quarter-billion dollars to help get the former president re-elected for a second term. Under Trump’s administration, Musk influence over U.S. policy and the federal government grew significantly.
The news that Starship launches will be increasing has been met with some criticism. The South Texas Environmental Justice Network, which has long opposed Musk and his space program, issued a statement condemning the “unjust” move, which the group claims will further disrupt residents and harm local wildlife.
Where is the Starship launch site?
Starship launches from SpaceX’s Starbase, the company’s headquarters in Boca Chica. The company town is built about 23 miles from Brownsville in Cameron County, Texas, near the U.S.-Mexico border.
Starbase, which voters approved on Saturday, May 3, 2025, to become its own city, is not only home to many of SpaceX’s launch operations, but many of its employees as well.
What is the SpaceX Starship rocket?
Starship, the world’s most powerful launch vehicle ever developed, is SpaceX’s massive spacecraft composed of both a 232-foot Super Heavy rocket and the 171-foot upper stage vehicle.
At more than 400 total feet in height, Starship towers over SpaceX’s famous Falcon 9 rocket – one of the world’s most active – which stands at nearly 230 feet.
SpaceX is developing Starship to be a fully reusable transportation system, meaning both the rocket and vehicle can return to the ground for additional missions. In the years ahead, Starship is intended to carry both cargo and humans to Earth’s orbit and deeper into the cosmos.
NASA’s lunar exploration plans, which appear to be in jeopardy under Trump’s proposed budget, call for Artemis III astronauts aboard the Orion capsule to board the Starship while in orbit for a ride to the moon’s surface.
Musk, though, has his sights set on Mars.
Under Musk’s vision, an uncrewed Starship could be off to the Red Planet by the end of 2026, followed by expeditions with humans in the years after.
What happened on previous Starship tests?
The first two Starship tests of 2025 have been marred by explosions.
In both cases, the upper stage, or the vehicle where astronauts and cargo would ride, came apart in a fiery display mere minutes into its flight instead of landing as planned in the Indian Ocean. SpaceX has worked with the Federal Aviation Administration to investigate both mishaps, the most recent of which occurred March 6.
The first explosion of the year on Jan. 16 was due to a series of propellant leaks and fires in the aft section of the vehicle that caused “all but one of Starship’s engines to execute controlled shut down sequences,” SpaceX concluded. This led to the communication breakdown and the vehicle to trigger its own self destruction.
Despite the failure of the Starship vehicle, the spacecraft’s rocket booster has now managed to navigate back to the launch pad twice in a row. The maneuver, first completed in October 2024, involves SpaceX catching the booster with giant mechanical arms known as chopsticks.
While the Starship hasn’t exploded in every iteration, the next-generation spacecraft has yet to reach orbit on any of its eight uncrewed flight tests, beginning in 2023.
Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@gannett.com
