SpaceX’s Starship successfully completed its 11th test flight, achieving a dramatic water landing in the Indian Ocean, precisely where CEO Elon Musk predicted it would splash down.
The mission marks the final flight for the “Version 2” Starship prototype, as SpaceX wraps up a year of significant advancements and prepares for the next generation of its reusable launch vehicles.
WATCH STARSHIP INDIAN OCEAN WATER LANDING
The spacecraft intentionally crashed into the Indian Ocean.
Picture-Perfect Indian Ocean Landing
The massive stainless-steel rocket lifted off from SpaceX’s Starbase facility in South Texas, soaring through the sky powered by 33 Raptor engines.
After stage separation, the Super Heavy booster performed a partially successful descent attempt before crashing into the Gulf of Mexico. Meanwhile, the upper-stage Starship continued its journey across the globe, executing complex flight maneuvers before descending flawlessly into the Indian Ocean roughly 66 minutes after liftoff, exactly as planned by SpaceX engineers.
The splashdown site, chosen off the coast of Australia, was deliberately selected for safety and telemetry reasons.
The precision of the landing shows SpaceX’s growing mastery in guidance and control systems, marking a major step toward future missions that will return Starship directly to the launch site for a vertical “catch” by the company’s signature “Mechazilla” tower.
ENGINEERING TRIUMPH AND FUTURE PLANS
During reentry, Starship underwent a bold test of durability, with SpaceX intentionally removing heat shield tiles to expose certain areas of the spacecraft to higher-than-normal stress.
The vehicle also performed a dynamic banking maneuver to simulate future orbital reentries guided toward Starbase.
Engineers confirmed the flight achieved all primary objectives, collecting valuable data on heat protection performance, trajectory correction, and landing precision.
Musk hailed the result as a “huge step forward” for Starship’s development. The company will now shift its focus to the next-generation “Version 3” vehicles, designed for full orbital recovery and Mars-readiness.
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