

SpaceX
SpaceX Starship ignites Raptor engine for the first time ahead of hop tests
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk says that the company’s first full-scale Starship prototype has completed an inaugural hop test in South Texas, igniting its lone Raptor engine and straining against a trio of tethers attached to its legs.
While relatively minor in the scope of SpaceX’s next-generation rocket program, Starhopper’s successful tethered hop now paves the way towards untethered testing in which the terminally suborbital testbed could spend several minutes aloft and reach altitudes as high as 5 km (3 mi). Aside from Starhopper itself, this perhaps marks an even more significant milestone for Raptor, completing the engine’s first successful test-fire as part of an integrated flight vehicle.
Starhopper’s first successful Raptor ignition comes after the better part of two weeks of concerted testing of the integrated prototype, beginning around March 18/19. That testing included 5+ wet dress rehearsals (WDRs) that involved loading the vehicle with a significant quantity of liquid methane and oxygen propellant, verifying the performance of avionics and plumbing, and ultimately attempting to ignite Raptor.
Ironically, less than 24 hours before Starhopper’s successful ignition, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk had noted that the rough prototype, its ground systems, or both were suffering from issues caused by ice formation in propellant valves. Reading between the lines, it’s likely that the issues involved valves on both Starhopper and its ground support equipment ‘sticking’ (i.e. failing to actuate) when commanded. While not usually a particularly large risk for the overall health of the vehicle and pad, uncooperative valves will almost invariably throw a wrench in the gears of attempted rocket operations, particularly when dealing with cryogenic propellants like those used by Starhopper.
As the supercool methane and oxygen inevitably begin to warm after leaving the propellant plant and entering Starhopper’s tanks, a fraction of the liquid will gradually transition into gas and expand, requiring constant venting of the tanks to prevent overpressure events that could damage or destroy the rocket. Falcon 9 and Heavy exhibit this same behavior, as do most other liquid-fueled rockets. This helps to explain the massive venting seen throughout Starhopper’s half-dozen or so WDR tests, as well as large but routine fireballs as excess methane gas was burned off as part of the process of vehicle and pad pressure regulation.
According to Musk, “all systems [were] green” during Starhopper’s most critical test yet. If Raptor and its prototype host are still in good health after their integrated three-second ignition test, SpaceX could attempt several more static fires and tethered hops over the next few days, mirroring the extremely rapid test series observed in February with the first completed Raptor engine.
If all proceeds nominally, it’s possible that SpaceX could begin untethered hop tests in the near future. Regardless, this marks an excellent step forward for the company’s next-generation Starship/Super Heavy spaceship and launch vehicle – all data gathered in this phase will help to optimize and improve the final design of the first orbital vehicles.
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Starship Flight 10 rescheduled as SpaceX targets Monday launch
SpaceX said it is now targeting Monday evening for Starship’s 10th flight test.

SpaceX stood down from its planned Starship Flight 10 on Sunday evening, citing an issue with ground systems.
The launch attempt was scheduled during a one-hour window that opened at 7:30 p.m. ET, but it was called off just 17 minutes before the window opened. SpaceX said it is now targeting Monday evening for Starship’s 10th flight test.
Flight 10 rescheduled
A lot of excitement was palpable during the lead up to Starship Flight 10’s first launch window. After the failures of Starship Flight 9, many were interested to see if SpaceX would be able to nail its mission objectives this time around. Starship itself seemed ready to fly, with the upper stage being loaded with propellant as scheduled. Later on, SpaceX also noted that Starship’s Super Heavy booster was also being loaded with propellant.
However, 17 before the launch window opened, SpaceX noted that it was “standing down from today’s tenth flight of Starship to allow time to troubleshoot an issue with ground systems.” Elon Musk, in a post on X, further clarified that a “ground side liquid oxygen leak needs to be fixed.” Musk did state that SpaceX will attempt Flight 10 again on Monday, August 25, 2025.
Starship and SpaceX’s development goals
The fully integrated Starship system is the tallest and most powerful rocket ever built, standing over 400 feet when stacked. Composed of the reusable Super Heavy booster and the Starship upper stage, the vehicle is central to SpaceX’s long-term ambitions of lunar and Martian missions. NASA has already selected Starship as the crewed lunar lander for Artemis, with its first astronaut landing mission tentatively set for 2027, as noted in a Space.com report.
So far, Starship has flown nine times from Starbase in Texas, with three launches this year alone. Each flight has offered critical data, though all three 2025 missions encountered notable failures. Flight 7 and Flight 8 ended in explosions less than 10 minutes after launch, while Flight 9 broke apart during reentry. Despite setbacks, SpaceX has continued refining Starship’s hardware and operations with each attempt. Needless to say, a successful Flight 10 would be a significant win for the Starship program.
Elon Musk
SpaceX Starship Flight 10: What to expect
SpaceX implemented hardware and operational changes aimed at improving Starship’s reliability.

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.
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FAA clears SpaceX for Starship Flight 10 after probe into Flight 9 mishap
SpaceX will attempt a Gulf splashdown for Flight 10 once more instead of a tower capture.

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.
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