SpaceX has pulled off a successful test flight of its newest generation rocket Starship, reversing a trend of disappointing failures. The world's largest and most powerful rocket blasted off from Texas just after 18:30 local time, for a 60-minute flight. Parts of the engine appeared to explode at one stage, and flaps on the side of the rocket caught fire and swung from side to side. The US space agency Nasa plans to use Starship to send humans to the Moon for its Artemis programme in 2027.

"Great work by the SpaceX team!!", posted SpaceX CEO Elon Musk on X, who is spending billions on developing Starship, with each launch costing an estimated $100m. He will be welcoming the success after three Starship launches ended in failure this year, and one rocket exploded on its test stand in June. Starship is the largest and most powerful rocket built to date, made up of a booster called Super Heavy and the spacecraft Starship.

The signs were positive from the start of Tuesday's test flight. All of the booster's 33 engines fired up, and after about seven minutes, the booster separated from the spacecraft and fell into the Gulf of Mexico. Starship continued to ascend, reaching a maximum height of almost 200 km above Earth before coasting around the planet. SpaceX said it intended to put the rocket under stress to test its limits, and parts of the rocket's flaps appeared to burn and swing wildly during the descent. The company has designed Starship to one day be a fully reusable transport system capable of carrying people to the Moon and Mars.

BBC News. “SpaceX pulls off Starship rocket launch in muchneeded comeback.” 27 August 2025.