SpaceX is preparing to launch the tenth test flight of its Starship vehicle as early as Sunday, August 24, with the launch window opening at 6:30 p.m. CT. 

The mission follows investigations into anomalies from earlier flights, including the loss of Starship on its ninth test and a Ship 36 static fire issue. SpaceX has since implemented hardware and operational changes aimed at improving Starship’s reliability.

Booster landing burns and flight experiments

The upcoming Starship Flight 10 will expand Super Heavy’s flight envelope with multiple landing burn trials. Following stage separation, the booster will attempt a controlled flip and boostback burn before heading to an offshore splashdown in the Gulf of America. One of the three center engines typically used for landing will be intentionally disabled, allowing engineers to evaluate whether a backup engine can complete the maneuver, according to a post from SpaceX.

The booster will also transition to a two-engine configuration for the final phase, hovering briefly above the water before shutdown and drop. These experiments are designed to simulate off-nominal scenarios and generate real-world data on performance under varying conditions, while maximizing propellant use during ascent to enable heavier payloads.

Starship upper stage reentry tests

The Starship upper stage will attempt multiple in-space objectives, including deployment of eight Starlink simulators and a planned Raptor engine relight. SpaceX will also continue testing reentry systems with several modifications. A section of thermal protection tiles has been removed to expose vulnerable areas, while new metallic tile designs, including one with active cooling, will be trialed.

Catch fittings have been installed to evaluate their thermal and structural performance, and adjustments to the tile line will address hot spots observed on Flight 6. The reentry profile is expected to push the structural limits of Starship’s rear flaps at maximum entry pressure.

SpaceX says lessons from these tests are critical to refining the next-generation Starship and Super Heavy vehicles. With Starfactory production ramping in Texas and new launch infrastructure under development in Florida, the company is pushing to hit its goal of achieving a fully reusable orbital launch system.

The Federal Aviation Administration has closed its review of SpaceX’s Starship Flight 9 mishap, clearing the way for the next launch attempt as soon as August 24. 

Flight 9 ended with the loss of both the Super Heavy booster and the upper stage, but regulators accepted SpaceX’s findings that a fuel component failure was the root cause. No public safety concerns were reported from the incident.

Starship recovery lessons

SpaceX noted that Flight 9 marked the first reuse of a Super Heavy booster. Unlike prior attempts, the company did not try a tower “chopsticks” recovery, opting instead for an offshore return that ended in a destructive breakup. The upper stage was also lost over the Indian Ocean. 

As per the FAA in its statement, “There are no reports of public injury or damage to public property. The FAA oversaw and accepted the findings of the SpaceX-led investigation. The final mishap report cites the probable root cause for the loss of the Starship vehicle as a failure of a fuel component. SpaceX identified corrective actions to prevent a reoccurrence of the event.”

SpaceX also highlighted that Flight 9’s debris did not harm any wildlife. “SpaceX works with an experienced global response provider to retrieve any debris that may wash up in South Texas and/or Mexico as a result of Starship flight test operations. During the survey of the expected debris field from the booster, there was no evidence of any floating or deceased marine life that would signal booster debris impact harmed animals in the vicinity,” the private space company noted.

Expanding test objectives

To mitigate risks, SpaceX plans to adjust return angles for future flights and conduct additional landing burn tests on Flight 10. SpaceX will attempt a Gulf splashdown for Flight 10 once more, instead of a tower capture, according to a report from the Boston Herald.

The upcoming Starship Flight 10, which will be launching from Starbase in Texas, will also mark SpaceX’s attempt to perform its first payload deployment and an in-space Raptor relight. Despite recent setbacks, which include the last three flights ending with the upper stage experiencing a rapid unscheduled disassembly (RUD), Starship remains central to NASA’s Artemis program, with a variant tapped as the human landing system for Artemis III, the first since the Apollo program. 

Standing more than 400 feet tall and generating 16 million pounds of thrust, Starship remains the most powerful rocket flown, though it has yet to complete an orbital mission. The FAA has expanded SpaceX’s license to allow up to 25 Starship flights annually from Texas.

Ukraine’s largest mobile operator, Kyivstar, has completed its first test of Starlink’s Direct to Cell satellite technology, enabling text messages to be sent directly from 4G smartphones without extra hardware. 

The trial was announced by the Ministry of Digital Transformation and Kyivstar’s parent company Veon in a press release.

First Eastern Europe field test

The Zhytomyr region hosted the pilot, where Deputy Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov and Kyivstar CEO Oleksandr Komarov exchanged texts and even made a brief video call via Starlink’s satellite link in northern Ukraine’s Zhytomyr region. 

Veon stated that the test marked Eastern Europe’s first field trial of the technology, which will allow Kyivstar’s 23 million subscribers to stay connected in areas without cellular coverage. The service will debut in fall 2025 with free text messaging during its testing phase.

“Our partnership with Starlink integrates terrestrial networks with satellite platforms, ensuring that nothing stands between our customers and connectivity – not power outages, deserts, mountains, floods, earthquakes, or even landmines,” Veon CEO Kaan Terzioglu stated.

Starlink in Ukraine

Kyivstar signed its Direct to Cell agreement with Starlink in December 2024, about a year after a major cyberattack disrupted service and caused nearly $100 million in damages, as noted in a report from the Kyiv Independent. Starlink technology has been a pivotal part of Ukraine’s defense against Russia in the ongoing conflict.

“Despite all the challenges of wartime, we continue to develop innovative solutions, because reliable communication under any circumstances and in any location is one of our key priorities. Therefore, this Kyivstar project is an example of effective partnership between the state, business, and technology companies, which opens the way to the future of communication without borders,” Mykhailo Fedorov, First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine, said.