🚀 Starship (Super Heavy + Ship) | 🛰 Starship Flight 8
Launch date: March 6, 2025 00:00 UTC
Payload: Starship Flight 8
Location: Starbase, South Texas
Vehicle: Starship (Super Heavy + Ship)
On March 6, 2025, SpaceX launched the eighth test flight of its Starship rocket from Starbase, South Texas. The flight saw a successful Super Heavy booster engine burn and the first-ever dramatic catch of the booster by Starbase’s launch tower ‘chopstick’ arms. However, the upper stage, known as Starship or Ship, exploded less than 10 minutes after liftoff, with debris raining down over the Bahamas. The article also highlighted regulatory updates affecting upcoming launches, including FAA license modifications in anticipation of Flight 9.
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.