SpaceX, led by Elon Musk, has successfully completed the eleventh unmanned orbital test flight of its super-large spacecraft, “Starship.” This success brings SpaceX closer to its goal of exploring the Moon and Mars.
According to SpaceX’s online live broadcast, the Starship launched from SpaceX’s “Starbase” facility on Boca Chica Beach, Texas, at 6:23 p.m. Central Time on the 13th (8:23 a.m. KST on the 14th). About three minutes after launch, the first stage rocket “Super Heavy” and the second stage spacecraft successfully separated, with the rocket booster making a vertical landing at sea via controlled descent.
After entering orbit, the second stage spacecraft continued its flight and successfully deployed eight mock satellite panels into orbit 17 minutes post-launch. It then completed engine re-ignition, atmospheric re-entry, and a splashdown in the Indian Ocean, successfully concluding a flight mission that lasted approximately 1 hour and 6 minutes.
The Starship is a large spacecraft designed with a length of 52 meters and a diameter of 9 meters, capable of carrying up to 100 crew members and 100 tons of cargo. SpaceX aims to reduce launch costs and increase launch frequency by making both rockets and spacecraft reusable.
Since founding SpaceX in 2002, Musk has dedicated more than 20 years to developing rockets for human settlement on Mars. Starship, a core component of this vision, is evaluated as a technology capable of enabling large-scale human migration and long-distance exploration through its reusable super-heavy launch system.
This year, SpaceX encountered a series of explosions from the 7th to the 9th test flights, but successfully executed all flight procedures during the 10th flight on August 26, marking a technological turning point. With this 11th test, major missions were accomplished flawlessly, indicating that Starship development has entered a stable phase.
However, major foreign media, including CNN, highlighted that despite Starship’s success, challenges remain in connection with NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to land humans on the Moon. NASA plans to use the Starship to land astronauts on the Moon during the Artemis Phase 3 mission in 2027.
Experts evaluate that this successful test has further strengthened SpaceX’s technological foundation for lunar exploration and human migration to Mars. However, they also emphasize that technical challenges such as booster reusability and long-term flight stability still need to be resolved to open the era of humans as a multiplanetary species.