Video: Moment Starship bellyflops and crashes into Indian Ocean

The Starship upper stage continued its journey, reaching a suborbital trajectory that took it halfway around the world in less than an hour.

In Short

• Starship system successfully separated its two stages shortly after launch
• Super Heavy booster made a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico
• The spacecraft then executed a controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean

SpaceX's Starship rocket system completed its most ambitious test flight to date on Wednesday, achieving several critical objectives and demonstrating key capabilities for future space missions.

The sixth test flight of the world's largest and most powerful rocket marked significant progress in SpaceX's development of a fully reusable launch system.

WATCH MOMENT STARSHIP SPLASHDOWN IN INDIAN OCEAN

Lifting off from SpaceX's Starbase facility in South Texas, the Starship system successfully separated its two stages shortly after launch.

The Super Heavy booster, while not achieving its planned mid-air catch, made a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico, providing valuable data for future recovery attempts.

The Starship upper stage continued its journey, reaching a suborbital trajectory that took it halfway around the world in less than an hour.

In a groundbreaking maneuver, SpaceX successfully reignited one of Starship's Raptor engines while in space, demonstrating a critical capability for future orbital missions, lunar landings, and potential Mars voyages.

This in-space engine restart is a crucial milestone, as it proves Starship's ability to perform complex maneuvers necessary for various mission profiles, including satellite deployments and deep space exploration.

During its flight, Starship conducted heat shield experiments and tested new reentry maneuvers, gathering essential data on the vehicle's performance in the harsh conditions of atmospheric reentry.

The spacecraft then executed a controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean, approximately 65 minutes after launch, completing its journey halfway around the World.

"Starship will go halfway around the world in less than 45 mins," Elon Musk said.

The success of this test flight significantly bolsters confidence in SpaceX's ability to deliver on its commitments for lunar missions and beyond.