On Tuesday evening, SpaceX’s ninth Starship test flight successfully separated from its Super Heavy booster and reached orbit, marking the smoothest Starship launch of the year after two consecutive explosions. This mission was the first to use a flight-proven Super Heavy booster, reused from the seventh test flight.

Figure 1. Starship’s Ninth Test Flight Launches Successfully but Ends in Space Spin.

Despite these milestones, the mission faced challenges: Starship failed to open a side cargo hatch to deploy mock satellites, and later lost attitude control, causing it to spin uncontrollably and re-enter over the Indian Ocean. SpaceX cleared the airspace around the re-entry zone as a safety precaution. Figure 1 shows Starship’s Ninth Test Flight Launches Successfully but Ends in Space Spin.

This flight followed FAA approval less than a week earlier, which came after SpaceX’s previous two tests experienced significant issues—explosions and spirals during flight. The FAA responded by expanding hazard zones based on SpaceX’s updated safety analysis. Following the eighth flight failure, SpaceX implemented hardware upgrades aimed at improving reliability.

The Launch and Booster Separation

SpaceX launched Starship on its ninth test flight from its facility in southern Texas. This flight was notable because it used a flight-proven Super Heavy booster, meaning the booster had already flown and returned successfully during the seventh test flight. After lift-off, the booster and Starship separated as planned, with the booster returning to Earth safely.

Achieving Orbit

Following separation, Starship ignited its onboard engines and entered orbit. This marked a major milestone and was considered the smoothest Starship launch of the year, especially following previous flights that ended in explosions.

Planned Cargo Deployment Failure

The mission included a test to deploy mock satellites through a side cargo hatch on Starship. However, the hatch failed to open, so the satellites could not be deployed as intended.

Loss of Attitude Control and Spin

Later in the flight, Starship lost attitude control, which means it could no longer properly orient itself in space. Without the ability to stabilize and position correctly, the spacecraft began spinning uncontrollably.

Uncontrolled Re-entry and Safety Measures

Due to the spin and loss of control, Starship made an uncontrolled re-entry over the Indian Ocean. To ensure safety, SpaceX cleared the airspace in the re-entry zone. Despite this setback, the test flight provided valuable data, and the company continues to improve the spacecraft after previous flight failures.

Source: TC

Cite this article:

Priyadharshini S (2025), SpaceX’s Ninth Starship Test Flight Takes off but Ends with a Spin in Space, AnaTechMaz, pp.374