Starbase, Texas – Starship’s ninth test flight launched at 6:36 p.m. CT on Tuesday, May 27, marking the first reuse of a Super Heavy booster in the program’s history.

The booster had previously flown in January during the seventh test flight. This time, it completed a full ascent burn with all 33 Raptor engines before separating from the upper stage in a hot-staging maneuver.

Super Heavy then performed its first controlled flip and boostback burn. It descended at a higher angle of attack, slowing its fall using atmospheric drag. The goal was to reduce propellant needs for landing.

As it neared splashdown in the Gulf of America, Super Heavy attempted to ignite 13 engines for landing. Moments later, contact was lost. The booster experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly about six minutes after launch.

Meanwhile, the Starship upper stage completed its own ascent burn, using improvements based on data from the previous test flight. These included hardware updates and system mitigations.

During orbital coast, Starship attempted to open its payload bay door to deploy eight Starlink simulator satellites. The door failed to open.

A resulting control error skipped a planned Raptor engine relight and stopped Starship from entering proper reentry position. The craft then entered an automated safing process and vented pressure before reentry.

Contact was lost 46 minutes into the flight. All debris is expected to have fallen in the Indian Ocean.

Despite challenges, this ninth flight marked a milestone in booster reuse and advanced testing. Data from the mission will guide improvements for upcoming launches.

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