FAA clears SpaceX to launch Starship Flight 10 on August
SpaceX just got the green light from the FAA to launch Starship Flight 10, after a full review of what went wrong with Flight 9 back in May.
With fixes in place, launches from Starbase, Texas are back on track—no more pause.
What went wrong with Flight 9
Flight 9 ran into two big problems: its Super Heavy booster exploded during landing because of a propellant line break caused by intense stress, while the upper stage lost control due to a methane leak and gas diffuser failure, and reentered in an off-nominal attitude, after which communications were lost.
Then in June, Ship 36 was lost during ground tests thanks to hidden damage in a nitrogen tank.
The way forward for SpaceX
SpaceX has responded by lowering tank pressures and tightening inspections.
The good news: no one was hurt.
The FAA now fully supports the next launch on August 24, 2025—a make-or-break test before SpaceX moves on to an upgraded Starship for NASA's Artemis III moon mission in 2027.