🚀 Starship (Super Heavy + Ship) | 🛰 Starship Flight 7
Launch date: January 16, 2025 00:00 UTC
Payload: Starship Flight 7
Location: Starbase, South Texas
Vehicle: Starship (Super Heavy + Ship)
On January 16, 2025, SpaceX conducted its Starship Flight 7 test launch from Starbase, South Texas. The Super Heavy booster returned safely, but the Ship upper stage exploded over the Atlantic Ocean, with debris splashing down near the Turks and Caicos Islands. The incident, similar to Flight 8, prompted regulatory scrutiny related to debris hazards.
Starbase, Boca Chica Beach, Texas, USA
Starbase, formerly known as the SpaceX South Texas Launch Site, is located at Boca Chica near Brownsville, Texas. SpaceX selected this coastal site to develop, test, and launch the Starship launch vehicle—a fully reusable spacecraft and booster system designed for missions to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars, and beyond. The facility includes an integrated test complex, launch pad, and rocket production infrastructure.
Since its inception in the mid-2010s, Starbase has been the center of SpaceX’s ambitious Starship program, witnessing a series of prototype launches and test flights. The site has become notable for its rapid pace of iteration and frequent high-profile flight tests, many of which have garnered significant public and media attention. As SpaceX continues to develop Starship for crewed and uncrewed missions, Starbase remains a focal point for next-generation space exploration.