Overview

• The ninth integrated test launched May 27 from Starbase in Texas with a previously flown Super Heavy booster.
• Super Heavy performed a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico instead of a launch-pad catch attempt.
• Starship’s upper stage carried eight Starlink satellite simulators but failed to release them after a deployment-door malfunction.
• Reentry experiments included stress tests on heat-shield tiles and an in-flight relight of a Raptor engine.
• The FAA cleared the return-to-flight after investigating past failures and extended hazard zones to nearly 1,600 nautical miles.