SPACEX STARSHIP FLIGHT 10

SpaceX Starship Development Status: Analysis of Flight 9 / Ship 36 and Preview of Flight 10

In August 2025, SpaceX announced lessons learned from recent tests and goals for the upcoming 10th flight test. Let’s take a detailed look at SpaceX’s rapid development process driven by learning from failures.

1. Flight 9 - Previous Test

The 9th flight test conducted on May 27 left both successes and lessons from failures.

Super Heavy Booster

• Achievements: Successful liftoff of the reusable booster, full burn of all 33 Raptor engines, and successful hot staging separation.
  • Hot staging: A technique where the upper stage (Starship) engines ignite before the booster engines shut down to separate the stages. For the first time, the booster successfully rotated in the intended direction.

    

• Cause of Incident: The booster intentionally flew at a high angle of attack (~17 degrees) during return to collect performance limit data. This caused higher-than-expected aerodynamic loads on the booster structure, especially the fuel feed lines. Just before landing burn, the fuel feed line structurally failed, causing an explosion and loss of communication at about 1 km altitude.

  

  • Angle of Attack: The angle between the vehicle’s longitudinal axis and the oncoming airflow. Larger angles increase lift and drag, imposing greater stress on the vehicle.
• Follow-up: For remaining flights of this booster generation, the descent angle of attack will be reduced to lower aerodynamic loads.

Starship Spacecraft (Upper Stage)

• Achievements: After stage separation, all six Raptor engines ignited successfully, flying on the planned trajectory and reaching target velocity.
• Cause of Incident: During engine burn, methane levels steadily increased in the nose cone. The cause was a failure in the pressurization system’s fuel diffuser located at the top of the main fuel tank. This caused abnormal pressure rise in the nose cone, leading to attitude control issues and skipping a critical mission phase.

  

  • Fuel Diffuser: A device that evenly injects high-pressure gas to maintain stable pressure inside the fuel tank.
• Follow-up: The diffuser was redesigned to reduce structural stress and distribute gas more efficiently, with durability tests completed under harsh conditions.

2. Ship 36 - Ground Test Accident

Ship 36, preparing for the 10th flight, was lost on June 18 during a static fire test on the ground.

S36 has exploded.

this is very very very very very very bad.

📸NSF | SBL pic.twitter.com/bMwND5tORk

— StarbaseTracking (@TrackingTheSB) June 19, 2025

• Static Fire Test: A procedure before launch where the rocket is held on the pad and engines are ignited to verify all systems operate correctly.
• Cause of Incident: The most likely cause was damage to the Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessel (COPV) in the payload bay. Undetected damage led to vessel rupture, triggering cascading structural failure and explosion.
  • COPV: A high-pressure vessel made by wrapping a metal liner with lightweight, strong composite materials like carbon fiber. Widely used in spacecraft to store gases while minimizing weight.
• Follow-up: COPV operating pressures will be reduced, inspections and tests intensified, new non-destructive inspection methods introduced, and external protective covers added as part of comprehensive improvements.

3. Preview of 10th Flight Test (Flight 10)

The launch window will open at 8:30 AM KST on August 26, 2025 (delayed by one day according to the NOTAM issued on August 20, 2025). SpaceX’s official channels will begin live streaming about 30 minutes before launch.

The 10th flight will pursue bolder and more specific objectives based on previous lessons.

Super Heavy Booster Objectives

This flight’s booster will not return to the launch site but splash down in the Gulf of Mexico, conducting key experiments:

• Engine Failure Scenario Test: Intentionally disable one of the three center engines during the final landing phase to collect data on whether the reserve engines in the middle ring can complete the landing burn.
• Hovering Test: During the final landing phase, use only two center engines to attempt a brief hover above the sea surface. This is a critical technology for precise landing.

Starship Spacecraft Objectives

The Starship upper stage will focus on various experiments for return and recovery at the launch site.

• Payload Deployment: Attempt to deploy 8 Starlink simulators similar in size to next-generation Starlink satellites into orbit. These simulators will burn up during atmospheric reentry.
• Reentry Stress Tests:
  • Thermal Tile Removal: Intentionally remove some heat shield tiles that protect the vehicle from high temperatures during reentry to test heat resistance of vulnerable areas.
  • New Material Tests: Test alternative heat shield materials, including actively cooled metal tiles.
  • Flap Structural Limit Test: Attempt a flight to test the structural limits of the rear flaps at the point of maximum dynamic pressure during atmospheric reentry.
  • Catch Fittings Test: Test the thermal and structural performance of the catch fittings installed for future recovery of Starship by the launch tower’s “chopsticks.”