Overview

• Launching from Starbase, Texas on Aug. 26, the uncrewed test achieved Starship’s first payload deployment, releasing eight dummy Starlink satellites.
• SpaceX confirmed splashdowns for both stages, with Super Heavy touching down in the Gulf of Mexico and Starship completing a landing burn before splashing down in the Indian Ocean.
• Key objectives were met in space, including a successful Raptor engine relight and heat-shield stress testing designed to gather data for reusability.
• The flight followed two scrubs over the prior days caused by a liquid-oxygen ground-system leak and unfavorable weather, and came after several upper-stage losses earlier this year.
• NASA’s Sean Duffy hailed the result as paving the way for the Starship Human Landing System, as SpaceX cites hardware and procedural changes such as larger booster fins while work continues on repeatable reliability, crew certification, and orbital refueling.