SpaceX’s Starship, the most powerful launch vehicle ever built, successfully completed its 11th test flight of the Version 2 prototype on Monday evening, marking another significant step toward future lunar and Martian missions.
The test, the final one before the next-generation Starship takes to the skies, took place from SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas, with liftoff at 6:23 p.m. CT.
Liftoff of Starship! pic.twitter.com/sbfmGAEPa6
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) October 13, 2025
This flight represented a clean sweep of flight objectives, concluding the Version 2 program on a high note after a rocky start earlier in the year. Both stages of the two-part vehicle — the Super Heavy booster and the Starship spacecraft — executed a series of complex maneuvers before safely splashing down in separate oceans.
Super Heavy made a controlled descent into the Gulf of Mexico, or as SpaceX referred to it – the Gulf of America, about eight minutes after launch, while Starship landed in the Indian Ocean roughly an hour later.
Splashdown confirmed! Congratulations to the entire SpaceX team on an exciting eleventh flight test of Starship! pic.twitter.com/llcIvNZFfg
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) October 14, 2025
SpaceX confirmed that the mission tested key systems including payload deployment, in-space engine relighting, and a redesigned heat shield.
Starship's eleventh flight test reached every objective, providing valuable data as we prepare the next generation of Starship and Super Heavy → https://t.co/YmvmGZTV8o pic.twitter.com/gO0i8XFWIH
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) October 14, 2025
Testing the Limits Before the Upgrade
Monday’s flight capped off the Version 2 series, which began with a string of failures but rebounded strongly with successful missions in August and now October. Engineers intentionally stripped certain heat shield tiles from Starship’s surface to study how the vehicle withstands high reentry temperatures — exceeding 2,600°F — and to identify improvements for the next prototype.
During the mission, Starship deployed its second batch of mock Starlink satellites and reignited one of its six Raptor engines in orbit, simulating a deorbit burn critical for future lunar and Mars missions.
Starship has successfully deployed our @Starlink simulators pic.twitter.com/muNMalZkbT
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) October 13, 2025
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk praised the team’s performance on X, writing, “Great work by the @SpaceX team.” Retired Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield also celebrated the achievement, calling it “an amazing leap forward in human capability.”
Congratulations to the @SpaceX Starship team on today’s success. Amazing leaps forward in human capability. Bodes well for the future. pic.twitter.com/G3v3jzGLIb
— Chris Hadfield (@Cmdr_Hadfield) October 14, 2025
Next is Starship Version 3
With Version 2’s campaign concluded, SpaceX will now transition to Starship Version 3, a larger and more capable prototype set to debut later this year. The next iteration will feature enhanced docking systems, propellant transfer hardware, and upgraded engines — all essential for refueling missions in orbit and long-duration flights.
Starship is set to play a pivotal role in NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to return astronauts to the Moon’s south pole by 2027.
