Starship flight test 9

Starship flight test 9

Mission type	Flight test
Operator	SpaceX
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft	Starship Ship 35
Spacecraft type	Starship (Block 2)
Manufacturer	SpaceX
Payload mass	~16,000 kg (35,000 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date	May 27, 2025, 23:36:28 UTC (6:36 pm CDT)
Rocket	Super Heavy (Block 2, B14-2)
Launch site	Starbase, OLP-A
End of mission
Destroyed	Ship May 27, 2025, 00:23:16 UTC (7:23:16 CST) Booster May 27, 2025, 23:42:44 UTC (6:42:44 CST)
Landing site	Super Heavy: Gulf of Mexico (Destroyed during landing burn) Ship: Indian Ocean (planned)
Payload
8 Starlink mass simulators
Mass	~16,000 kg (35,000 lb)
Mission patch SpaceX Starship flight tests ← Flight 8 Flight 10 →

Starship flight test 9 was the ninth flight test of a SpaceX Starship launch vehicle. Ship 35 and Booster 14-2 flew on this test flight. This flight launched on May 27, 2025, at 23:36 UTC (6:36 pm CDT, local time at the launch site).^[1] The Ship attempted to achieve the objectives originally planned for Flights 7 and 8, which both failed. This mission's booster, the first Super Heavy to re-fly, underwent experiments in-flight to have its capabilities assessed under off-nominal flight conditions,^[2] and was expected to splash down instead of being caught.^[3][4]

Ship 35 reached its planned velocity, the first V2 ship to do so. However, it experienced several failures, including a propellant leak and loss of attitude control preventing the Ship from achieving most of its in-space objectives, leading SpaceX to terminate the flight by passivating the vehicle. The booster disintegrated over the designated splashdown area in the Gulf of Mexico just after landing burn ignition, the booster completed its objective of flying under a more aggressive angle of attack than usual and enabling SpaceX to gather data related to aerodynamic control of the vehicle during descent.^[5]