Elon Musk’s SpaceX Starship finally launches on 10th attempt

It only took a handful of explosions – and the kind of budget that could bankroll a small nation – but on the 10th attempt, Elon Musk’s Starship finally soared into space.

SpaceX’s rocket – the billionaire’s big bet on colonising Mars – departed from south Texas at around 7.30pm local time on Tuesday, after a long year of crashes.

The giant 403-foot-tall system launched into orbit, greeted by loud cheers from engineering teams, as seen in a live webcast.

A few minutes into the flight, the first-stage booster known as Super Heavy splashed down into the Gulf of Mexico, triggering a sonic boom on its way.

Unlike other recent tests, SpaceX opted not to attempt a catch with the giant ‘chop stick’ arms of the launch tower, instead testing how it would perform if an engine cut out.

Attention then shifted to the upper stage – also known individually as the Starship and intended to one day carry crew and cargo – to demonstrate its capabilities

For the first time, SpaceX was then able to deploy eight dummy Starlink internet satellites, with onboard cameras beaming back live views of a robotic mechanism pushing each out one by one.

But it was not all smooth sailing.

Parts of the engine appeared to explode at one stage, and flaps on the side of the rocket caught fire and swung from side-to-side.

SpaceX communications manager Dan Huot said much of this was expected as the vehicle was intentionally flown on a punishing trajectory with some tiles removed.

He said: ‘We are kind of being mean to this starship a little bit. We’re really trying to put it through the paces and kind of poke on what some of its weak points are.’

Ignoring the mishaps, Musk posted on X: ‘Great work by the SpaceX team!!’

Much is riding on its success, particularly after three Starship launches ended in failure this year, and one rocket exploded on the launch pad in June.

Musk has previously said every Starship test flight costs between $50 million to $100 million (£37 million to £74 million), making a small dent into his fortune.

NASA picked Starship to put its first astronauts on the moon’s surface since the Apollo program.

And Musk sees Starship, designed to be fully reusable, as core to fulfilling his goal of routinely ferrying humans to Mars.

The CEO said on Monday on a SpaceX live strea: ‘There are thousands of engineering challenges that remain, for both the ship and the booster, but maybe the single biggest one is the reusable orbital heat shield.’

The mission concluded with a steady, engine-guided vertical landing on the Indian Ocean’s surface, west of Australia.

The Starship then toppled over before exploding into a giant fireball, an expected demise likely triggered by its flight termination system.

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