SpaceX’s mega rocket Starship makes a test flight from Starbase, Texas, Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025. AP Two minutes before Monday’s scheduled launch, the team noted that they would be holding at T-40 since they were “red on the range for weather.” Every other parameter, though, fell in the “green range.” By Tuesday, all checks fell into the “green range” and the rocket was cleared for launch on time. The 10th launch also comes more than two months after the spacecraft exploded into an enormous fireball during a routine test. Prior to the failure of the ninth launch in May, the company saw its Starship rockets explode over the Atlantic Ocean during its seventh and eighth flights in January and March, respectively. Despite the series of floundered attempts, the ninth test did see the first successful reuse of the Super Heavy booster rocket, showing signs of progress toward CEO Elon Musk’s desire to create a fully reusable rocket system. Starship is designed to be fully and rapidly reusable, saving SpaceX significantly on cost and resources, which would aid the company in reaching its ultimate goal of pioneering travel to the Moon and Mars. SpaceX has been tapped to handle NASA’s upcoming Artemis 3 mission to return to the Moon in 2027, with Musk eyeing his own launch for Mars come 2026 when Earth and the red planet are at their closest orbit. Filed under