SpaceX completes 11th Starship test before debuting upgraded prototype

SpaceX launched its 11th Starship from Texas on 13 October, landing in the Indian Ocean ahead of testing an upgraded version for future moon and Mars missions.

Starship, which includes the Starship upper stage stacked atop its Super Heavy booster, launched from SpaceX's Starbase facilities.

After sending the Starship stage to space, Super Heavy returned for a soft water landing in the Gulf of Mexico 7 minutes after liftoff, testing a landing engine configuration before blowing itself up.

Its last mission, in August, ended a streak of testing failures earlier this year.

Monday's flight was similar to the previous one, again deploying a batch of mock Starlink satellites, briefly re-lighting its engines in space and testing new heat shield tiles during its blazing hot return from space before splashing down west of Australia.

Acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy said on X the mission was "another major step toward landing Americans on the Moon’s south pole."

SpaceX, in future tests, expects to launch a more advanced Starship prototype tailored with upgrades essential for long-duration missions in space, the company said on Monday.

That includes docking adapters and other hardware changes key to orbital refueling, a complex process involving two Starships docking in orbit to transfer hundreds of tons of super-cooled propellant.

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