SpaceX’s Starship program faced another setback on Wednesday, when its Starship upper stage crashed into the Indian Ocean after the company lost control of the rocket nearly 30 minutes into its ninth test flight.

The mission, which lifted off from Starbase in Texas, was designed to further demonstrate Starship’s orbital and reentry capabilities, with the upper stage targeting a controlled splashdown halfway around the globe.

The Starship upper stage was carrying eight Starlink simulator satellites, intended to be deployed in orbit as part of SpaceX’s ongoing efforts to validate the vehicle for future satellite launches and deep space missions.

However, the mission encountered trouble when, instead of deploying the satellites, Starship began spinning uncontrollably. SpaceX engineers lost control of the vehicle, which ultimately crashed into the Indian Ocean minutes later.

This failure follows two consecutive Starship test flights earlier in 2025 that also ended prematurely, highlighting the technical challenges SpaceX faces in developing the world’s largest and most powerful rocket system.

In previous flights, issues such as engine failures and onboard fires led to explosions over the Caribbean and the Atlantic, prompting SpaceX to implement a series of hardware upgrades and procedural changes ahead of the ninth flight.

Despite the crash, SpaceX’s iterative approach to rocket development means each test, even unsuccessful ones, provides valuable data. The company remains committed to refining Starship’s design, with the goal of achieving full reusability for missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

Nasa is closely watching Starship’s progress, as the vehicle is slated to play a key role in the Artemis program’s lunar landings in the coming years.

As SpaceX analyses the latest failure, anticipation builds for future flights, with hopes that lessons learned from this and previous mishaps will bring Starship closer to operational status.