Starship Flight 9

Booster 14 had been caught on Flight 7. SpaceX inspected it, replaced four of its thirty-three Raptor engines, and returned it to the pad as the first Super Heavy ever to fly twice.

On 27 May 2025, Booster 14 lifted from Starbase in the early evening with Ship 35 stacked above it. The booster's second mission was experimental: rather than return for another catch, it would descend at a steeper angle of attack and push the limits of engine-out capability before splashing down in the Gulf. It broke apart during the landing burn.

Ship 35 reached engine cutoff successfully but developed a methane leak in its autogenous pressurization system shortly afterwards. The leak vented methane into the nosecone; the eight Starlink simulators never deployed, and the ship lost attitude control. SpaceX passivated the vehicle and it broke up over the Indian Ocean.