Starship soars again: Musk's SpaceX rocket makes planned crash in Gulf of Mexico | WATCH

SpaceX launched its gigantic Starship rocket on another successful test flight Monday, completing a complex mission that took it halfway across the globe before ending with a planned descent into the Indian Ocean. The 403-foot rocket, the most powerful ever built, lifted off from Starbase in South Texas and released mock satellites into orbit just like its previous flight. 

The booster detached cleanly and made a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico, while the spacecraft itself skimmed the edge of space and reentered Earth's atmosphere before splashing down in the Indian Ocean. No hardware was recovered, as expected. “Hey, welcome back to Earth, Starship,” SpaceX commentator Dan Huot said, as cheers erupted at mission control.

Musk watches from outside for the first time 

For the first time, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk watched the launch from outside the control room, calling it a “much more visceral” experience. The test marked the 11th full-scale flight of Starship, which Musk hopes will one day carry humans to Mars.

NASA is depending on Starship for its Artemis mission, which aims to land astronauts on the Moon’s south pole before the decade ends. Starship is the vehicle designed to ferry astronauts between lunar orbit and the surface.

NASA’s acting administrator Sean Duffy called the launch “another major step” toward reaching the Moon, praising SpaceX’s progress via a post on X (formerly Twitter). The flight included more complex manoeuvres than before, particularly during the spacecraft’s reentry. SpaceX used this opportunity to test systems needed for future landings back at the launch site, improving chances of eventually recovering and reusing Starship.