SpaceX targets Starship Flight 10 from Starbase with no booster catch

SpaceX is moving toward the tenth full-scale flight of its Starship system, aiming for liftoff from the company’s Starbase facility in South Texas no earlier than Sunday evening, as regulators signaled clearance for the test and engineers completed final preparations. The Starship stack, consisting of the Super Heavy booster and the Starship upper stage, is positioned for a mission that SpaceX describes as an important step in expanding the rocket’s operational envelope, including data on propulsion, reentry, and recovery methods.

The mission profile for Flight 10 involves a fully stacked launch with Booster 16 and Ship 37, both Block 2 variants, pushing toward demonstrations that can inform future lunar and interplanetary ambitions. The plan calls for eight Starlink satellite mass simulators to be deployed in orbit, an in-space relight of a Raptor engine, and controlled splashdowns in designated oceanic locations. In contrast to earlier demonstrations, the company intends to forego a booster catch at the launch tower, instead allowing the booster to descend into the Gulf of Mexico while Starship targets a splashdown in the Indian Ocean. The objective is to broaden the...