SpaceX launched its eighth Starship test flight on Thursday, March 6, 2025, from its Starbase facility in South Texas. The mission aimed to advance the reusable rocket system’s development with a third successful booster recovery and a planned satellite simulator deployment by the Starship upper stage.
Flight 8 ended with mixed results as the Starship upper stage experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly during its ascent burn. The Super Heavy booster, however, returned successfully to Starbase’s launch tower.
Super Heavy Booster Achieves 3rd Successful Catch
The Super Heavy booster, designated Booster 15, roared to life at launch, propelling the 400-foot-tall Starship stack skyward. Less than three minutes after liftoff, it separated cleanly from the upper stage and began its descent back to Starbase.
The booster executed a pinpoint landing, getting caught midair by the launch tower’s massive “chopstick” arms. This marked the third test flight where SpaceX was able to successfully recover a Super Heavy booster, a critical step toward reducing costs by reusing the rocket’s first stage.
The crowd at South Padre Island, watching from across the water, erupted in cheers as the Super Heavy booster settled into the tower’s grasp.
Starship Upper Stage Lost
The mission’s upper stage, known as Ship 34, faced a starkly different fate. Intended to deploy four mock Starlink satellites and splash down in the ocean about 66 minutes after launch, the spacecraft encountered trouble during its ascent.
Videos posted on social media platform X showed Ship 34 disintegrating during its flight, echoing Flight 7’s upper-stage loss in January. SpaceX addressed the upper stage’s failure in a post on X.
“During Starship’s ascent burn, the vehicle experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly and contact was lost. Our team immediately began coordination with safety officials to implement pre-planned contingency responses. We will review the data from today’s flight test to better understand root cause. As always, success comes from what we learn, and today’s flight will offer additional lessons to improve Starship’s reliability,” SpaceX wrote in its post.
Watch SpaceX’s Starship Flight 8 livestream in the video below.
