SpaceX successfully launches Starship 8 and lands reusable Super Heavy booster in 8th test flight

SpaceX has launched the eighth test of its massive Starship rocket on Thursday — successfully taking-off and completing the much anticipated “catch” of the vaunted Super Heavy booster.

The 400-foot-tall Starship took off from SpaceX’s Starbase facility near Boca Chica Beach, in Texas, with the updated vessel zooming across the Gulf of America on its way to release dummy satellites before its planned splash down in the Indian Ocean.

The company is also celebrating the third-ever catch of its Super Heavy booster, equipped with 33 Raptor engines, which returned to the Texas launchpad where the so-called “chopsticks” mechanical arms grabbed the reusable and powerful propellant.

This was only the second time SpaceX has been able to carry out both a successful Starship launch and Super Heavy booster catch.

SpaceX postponed plans for this launch on Monday due to undisclosed issues with the Super Heavy Booster which was flagged by computers just 23 minutes before the planned take-off.

The Elon Musk-owned company delighted stargazers last October during its fifth test when it completed the first successful catch of the booster rockets, with Starship itself completing a successful entry in the Indian Ocean.

The following launch — which then President-elect Donald Trump and his family watched from Starbase — saw SpaceX abort the catch attempt, forcing the boosters to make a splash down in the gulf.

The seventh test, however, saw the company complete its second-ever catch, but the mission was far from a success as it resulted in the destruction of the main Starship rocket.

That updated Starship experienced a propellant leak during its ascent, causing it to break apart and explode over the Atlantic Ocean, with its burning debris visible from the Turks and Caicos islands.

Starship is designed to be fully and rapidly reusable, saving SpaceX significantly on cost and resources, which would aid the company in reaching its ultimate goal of pioneering travel to the Moon and Mars.

NASA is pinning its hopes on Starship’s success in order to use the craft for a return to the Moon, which is being planned for 2027-2028.