SpaceX's Next Mission Will See Booster Capture by Mechazilla
SpaceX's Starship Makes a Splash: Preparing for Flight 10
After a successful controlled splashdown of both the Super Heavy booster and the Starship during their recent test flight, SpaceX is gearing up for the 10th integrated test flight of the Super Heavy Starship megarocket, currently scheduled for August 24, 2025.
This upcoming flight will involve launching Booster 16 and Ship 37, both Block 2 versions with incremental upgrades, from SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Texas. The mission objectives for this flight include deploying eight Starlink satellite mass simulators after stage separation, performing an in-space Raptor engine relight test, attempting a controlled splashdown of the Starship upper stage in the Indian Ocean, conducting a controlled splashdown of Booster 16 in the Gulf of Mexico, testing newly developed heat shield tiles, and pushing the flap operability to its limits.
The Starship, essential for SpaceX's future, is a 121-meter tall vehicle that attracted interest from NASA for the Artemis program. During the fourth test flight, live feeds from cameras on board the rocket revealed purple and orange plasma surrounding the 50-meter high vehicle as it sliced through the atmosphere above the Indian Ocean at more than 20,000 km/h. Despite apparent damage to one control flap and tile loss, the Starship managed to maintain control and land smoothly.
SpaceX's Starlink high-speed network was used to relay live feeds from the rocket to the ground, while the mid-air capture required great precision and coordination, with advanced systems calculating trajectory and adjusting movements in real time. The Super Heavy booster was captured in flight by arms for stabilization and safe placement on the launch pad, and both elements were returned to Earth for controlled splashdowns.
Elon Musk, SpaceX's CEO, expressed ambition to attempt catching the Super Heavy booster with Mechazilla's tower in the future. Engineers may provide heat shield modifications for the Starship to address tile loss, and the next flight could provide interesting insights into the real-time control system for mid-air capture.
This flight is pivotal as it continues to validate improvements following previous flights where the upper stage encountered control and re-entry issues, including leaks and structural stress during atmospheric re-entry. Successfully demonstrating these in-space operations and controlled recoveries will be critical for SpaceX to progress toward Starship’s future roles, including NASA’s Artemis 3 lunar landing mission planned for 2027.
SpaceX is also working toward demonstrating complex milestones like on-orbit cryogenic propellant transfer, which has been delayed but remains targeted possibly for 2026. Flight 10 is seen as a major step toward that goal and the broader ambition of rapid Starship reusability and frequent launches across the latter half of 2025. The fifth test flight could take place in a few weeks.
- The Starship's deployment of eight Starlink satellite mass simulators during Flight 10 could further contribute to advancements in space-and-astronomy, given its role in SpaceX's high-speed network.
- In the realm of technology, the controlled splashdowns of Booster 16 and the Starship upper stage, as planned for Flight 10, are crucial steps towards the goal of rapid Starship reusability and frequent launches, propelling us forward in science.
