SpaceX has made a significant advancement in its Starship program. During its tenth test flight, the company successfully deployed eight Starlink satellite prototypes into orbit for the first time. The launch faced multiple delays due to weather and technical issues, but ultimately occurred without incident. Previously, Starship experienced explosions during ascent in its seventh, eighth, and ninth flights. In June, another explosion happened on the ground during pre-launch preparations.

The tenth flight commenced at 6:30 PM Central Time on August 26, 2025 (2:30 AM August 27 Kyiv time) from the Starbase launch facility in Texas. The first stage, Super Heavy, ignited all 33 Raptor engines and lifted the rocket above the Gulf of Mexico. After stage separation, Super Heavy performed a series of complex maneuvers, including landing braking, deliberately shutting down one of its three central engines in the final phase, and utilizing a backup engine. It even executed a brief "hover" above the water before a controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean.

The upper stage of Starship continued its journey into space and successfully deployed the eight Starlink satellite prototypes, while also conducting a re-ignition of the Raptor engine in space—a key technology for future deorbit maneuvers.

Particular attention was given to the return phase: the thermal protection and the body of Starship were intentionally subjected to extreme stresses to gather more data on structural integrity.

SpaceX emphasized that this flight marks an important step towards the full reusability of the Starship system, but work remains to be done on developing the technology for the upper stage's return for reuse.