SpaceX's Starship launched into the night sky on Tuesday, marking its ninth test flight after experiencing two previous failures earlier this year. The towering 400-foot rocket lifted off from the company's Starbase facility in Texas just after 7:30 p.m. ET. This mission aimed to deploy eight Starlink satellite simulators, a first for the Starship, before a planned landing in the Indian Ocean.

The launch faced a brief delay due to last-minute technical issues but ultimately proceeded successfully. This test is crucial for CEO Elon Musk's ambitious plans to reach Mars by next year. Notably, this flight also marked the first reuse of the Super Heavy booster rocket, which had previously been used in a January mission.

Unlike earlier attempts, SpaceX did not attempt to catch the Super Heavy booster during this launch. Instead, the booster was set to splash down in the Gulf of Mexico but exploded after detaching from the main rocket, as reported during the live broadcast of the event. The Starship followed the same trajectory as its predecessor, which exploded ten minutes after takeoff during the eighth test in March. That incident led to temporary flight groundings at several Florida airports due to debris from the launch.

In January, another test resulted in the Starship breaking apart and exploding due to a propellant leak during ascent. Despite these setbacks, SpaceX successfully guided the Super Heavy boosters back to the Texas launchpad on three previous occasions, using robotic arms known as "chopsticks" or "Mechazilla" to catch them.

The Starship is designed to be fully reusable, which is expected to significantly reduce costs and resources for SpaceX. This capability is essential for the company's long-term goals of facilitating travel to the Moon and Mars.

The upcoming test flight was closely monitored due to the previous failures. After the launch, Musk is expected to present from Texas on the future of making life multiplanetary. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has been overseeing investigations into the earlier accidents and recently announced expanded hazard zones for the Starship's flight path, increasing from 885 nautical miles to 1,600 nautical miles. This change covers areas east of the South Texas launch site, through the Straits of Florida, and includes the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos.

For this latest mission, SpaceX planned to test several "off-nominal scenarios" with the Super Heavy booster. As a result, the first stage will not return to the launch site for a catch maneuver. If the upper-stage vehicle reaches orbit, it will attempt to deploy the eight simulated Starlink satellites, which are expected to burn up upon re-entry into Earth's atmosphere. Additionally, mission controllers will try to relight one of the spacecraft's Raptor engines while in space.

Musk has indicated that while the Starship is intended for future Mars missions, SpaceX will likely conduct hundreds of test flights before any crewed missions take place.