Starship

Stories 1 - 20 |  Next >>

NASA Threatens to Dump SpaceX From Moon Mission

Elon Musk doubtful as agency opens door to rivals amid race with China

(Newser) - NASA is rethinking its moon lander contract with SpaceX, raising the prospect that Elon Musk's company could lose its central role in the agency's Artemis III mission—the first crewed lunar landing since Apollo. Acting NASA chief Sean Duffy signaled during TV appearances on Monday that SpaceX...

After a Year of Mishaps, Success for Starship

Mega rocket splashed down as planned after 10th test flight

(Newser) - SpaceX launched the latest test of its mega rocket Starship on Tuesday night and completed the first-ever deployment of a test payload—eight dummy satellites—into space. After just over an hour coasting through space, Starship splashed down as planned in the Indian Ocean, the AP reports.
  • Starship blasted off
...

SpaceX Rocket Explodes at Starbase
SpaceX Rocket
Explodes at Starbase
Jun 19, 2025 3:00 AM CDT

SpaceX Rocket Explodes at Starbase

Rocket was being tested at Texas launch site

(Newser) - A SpaceX rocket being tested in Texas exploded Wednesday night, sending a dramatic fireball high into the sky, the AP reports. The company said the Starship "experienced a major anomaly" at about 11pm while on the test stand preparing for the tenth flight test at Starbase, SpaceX's launch...

This Time, Starship Didn't Explode Within Minutes

But megarocket's 9th test flight wasn't a total success

(Newser) - Starship blasted off Tuesday for another test flight —and within minutes, the ninth test flight from Starbase was more successful than this year's previous two launches, which both exploded midair within 10 minutes of liftoff. Things went awry later in the flight, however. An attempt to deploy dummy...

Starship Plans a Tuesday Launch
Starship Plans
a Tuesday Launch
May 27, 2025 7:11 AM CDT

Starship Plans a Tuesday Launch

This will be first SpaceX flight since 2 explosions earlier this year, with a Mars mission on the horizon

(Newser) - The last two Starships sent up into space exploded midair , sending debris raining down on Earth. SpaceX now hopes for better results with the ninth unmanned test flight of its powerful new rocket, with a launch window from the Starbase facility near Brownsville, Texas, set for Tuesday starting at 7:...

Starship Flight Breaks Up, Apparently Showers Debris
Starship Flight Breaks Up
Mar 6, 2025 6:55 PM CST

Starship Flight Breaks Up

SpaceX loses communication at roughly the same point as last time

(Newser) - SpaceX lost contact with its unmanned Starship rocket minutes after launch on Thursday, as the spacecraft lost altitude and several engines. Starship lifted off successfully at 6:30pm ET in Texas, ABC News reports, but started to spin out of control nine minutes into the test flight , and several engines...

Starship Prepares for 8th Launch
8th Starship Launch Scrubbed
UPDATED
Mar 3, 2025 6:16 PM CST

8th Starship Launch Scrubbed

SpaceX says team is 'determining the next best available opportunity to fly'

(Newser) - SpaceX on Monday delayed its eighth Starship test flight—the second one this year, and the first of President Trump's administration. SpaceX aimed for a 6:45pm Eastern launch time, but the launch was scrubbed after the countdown was held at 40 seconds due to last-minute issues, Space.com...

That Pretty Starship Explosion? A Lot of Pollution

Experts say atmosphere, ocean likely to have suffered

(Newser) - The explosion of SpaceX's Starship didn't just cause damage to islands hit by falling debris. It also likely damaged the ocean and atmosphere, Space.com reports. The rocket's stainless-steel upper stage, which weighed 85 tons without propellant, broke up at an altitude of around 90 miles, according...

Musk's SpaceX Makes Official Push for a New Texas City

Company asks local officials to make its Starbase launch site an incorporated city

(Newser) - SpaceX is launching a new mission: making its Starbase site a new Texas city. Billionaire Elon Musk's company on Thursday sent a letter to local officials requesting an election to turn what it calls Starbase—the South Texas site where SpaceX builds and launches its massive Starship rockets—into...

SpaceX 'Chopsticks' Fail May Have Been to Protect Trump

Booster wasn't caught by launch tower's mechanical arms out of an 'abundance of caution'

(Newser) - There was no so-called booster catch during SpaceX's sixth Starship test flight on Tuesday, and some more details are now trickling out on that. A SpaceX spokesman didn't initially explain what went wrong with the plan, in which the Super Heavy booster was meant to be caught by...

With Trump Looking on, Starship Takes Off
Starship Completes
6th Test Flight
UPDATED
Nov 19, 2024 5:40 PM CST

Starship Completes 6th Test Flight

'Chopsticks' weren't used to catch booster this time

(Newser) - With President-elect Trump and Elon Musk looking on, the sixth Starship test flight took off Tuesday from SpaceX's launch site in southern Texas. The Super Heavy booster splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico minutes after the 5pm Eastern launch, the BBC reports. SpaceX had initially planned to catch...

Musk: SpaceX Is Prepping for 2026 Mars Landings

And if those go well, manned launches in 2028, he says of planned Starship missions

(Newser) - Elon Musk's long-held dream for his SpaceX spacecraft to make it to Mars appears to be ever closer to coming to fruition, at least according to Musk. In a weekend post on X , the social media platform he owns, Musk noted that "the first Starships to Mars will...

Musk: 4th Starship Test Was an 'Epic Achievement'

This time, there were no explosions

(Newser) - SpaceX says the fourth test flight of the most powerful rocket ever built was a big success. Starship completed a test flight without explosions for the first time, with both the spacecraft and the booster completing controlled landings, the AP reports.
  • The 400-foot-tall Starship was launched at 8:50am Eastern
...

Starship Breaks Up Over Indian Ocean During Reentry

But test flight outperformed 2 previous efforts

(Newser) - This story has been updated with new developments. SpaceX's mega rocket blasted off on another test flight Thursday, this time with the spacecraft reaching enough speed to coast toward its finish line halfway around the world. It outperformed the previous two test flights, which both ended in explosions over...

SpaceX Cleared for 3rd Starship Test
FAA Clears 3rd Starship Test
Mar 14, 2024 5:53 AM CDT

FAA Clears 3rd Starship Test

Launch could happen Thursday morning

(Newser) - SpaceX's third test flight of its Starship rocket could happen Thursday morning, weather allowing. The Federal Aviation Administration has cleared a launch from the Starbase test site in Texas in a 110-minute window starting at 8am Eastern, Ars Technica reports. The latest estimate is 9:02am Eastern. "The...

SpaceX Mission 'Presumed Failed' Minutes After Launch

Starship reached space this time, but contact was then lost

(Newser) - SpaceX's Starship, the world's most powerful rocket, saw liftoff from Texas on Saturday around 8am ET, and the New York Times notes that its upper stage did successfully separate from its Super Heavy booster—further than it got during its initial launch in April, which ended in an...

FAA Clears Second SpaceX Starship Test

Company is targeting Friday launch

(Newser) - The Federal Aviation Administration has given the green light to SpaceX for a second test flight of its Starship rocket, more than six months after the most powerful rocket ever built exploded soon after liftoff . "The FAA determined SpaceX met all safety, environmental, policy and financial responsibility requirements,"...

Elon Musk: Starship Is Ready for Launch. FAA: Not So Fast

Agency says investigation into disastrous first launch is still open

(Newser) - More than four months after the most powerful rocket ever created exploded soon after liftoff , SpaceX is ready to try again. The company has stacked its Starship rocket on top of a Super Heavy booster at its launch pad in Boca Chica in southern Texas. "Starship is ready to...

More Fallout for SpaceX's Rocket Launch

Environmental groups aren't happy and are suing the FAA over Starship's launch

(Newser) - Wildlife and environmental groups sued the Federal Aviation Administration on Monday over SpaceX’s launch last month of its giant rocket from Texas. SpaceX’s Starship soared 24 miles high before exploding over the Gulf of Mexico on April 20. The rocket's self-destruct system caused the nearly 400-foot rocket...

Starship Was Launched Without Normal Protections

Launch obliterated launchpad, spread debris much further than expected

(Newser) - Before last Thursday's launch, SpaceX warned that its Starship rocket was likely to explode—but the company did not predict that the launch would obliterate the launchpad, causing particulate matter to spread over a much wider area than expected. As is standard practice, the Federal Aviation Administration has grounded...

Stories 1 - 20 |  Next >>
Most Read on Newser