Overview

• The full-scale vehicle lifted off from Starbase, Texas, on October 13 and completed a flight lasting just over an hour that spanned roughly half the globe.
• The Super Heavy booster made a planned controlled entry into the Gulf of Mexico, and the Starship upper stage descended into the Indian Ocean with no hardware recovered.
• SpaceX deployed eight mock satellites during the mission and added spacecraft maneuvering and entry tests intended to inform future return-to-launch-site operations.
• The profile did not include on-orbit refueling or recovery attempts, which SpaceX and experts describe as technically complex and still ahead.
• NASA’s acting administrator praised the advancement even as former agency leaders and independent experts warn that remaining gaps could jeopardize Artemis 3 timing and U.S. lunar goals, with SpaceX also preparing Cape Canaveral sites for future Starship launches.