SpaceX's Starship mega rocket completes its tenth test flight with successful splashdown

The largest rocket ever built, U.S. firm SpaceX's Starship, lifted off Tuesday on its 10th test flight, after a series of technical problems that had cast doubt on its viability.

The more than 120-meter-tall giant lifted off from its base in Texas shortly after 18H30 local time (23H30 GMT), and the upper stage successfully splashed down in the Indian Ocean about an hour later after meeting its key objectives, according to a video feed from the company, owned by billionaire Elon Musk.

"Splashdown confirmed! Congratulations to the entire SpaceX team on an exciting tenth flight test of Starship!" the company wrote on X.

A few minutes after launch, the first stage booster splashed down in the Gulf of America (Gulf of Mexico).

Unlike other tests, SpaceX did not attempt to trap Starship in the launch tower but to test its performance.

The focus was then on the upper stage intended to carry crew and cargo, and on its capability as it soars into space.

Key mission

For the first time, SpaceX successfully deployed eight test Starlink Internet satellites, with onboard cameras transmitting live images of a robotic mechanism that propelled them one by one.

Not all was rosy. Some thermal plates detached and a small section of a wing burned off during the spacecraft's intense descent.

SpaceX communications manager Dan Huot,said much of that incident was foreseeable, and that the vehicle intentionally flew on a demanding trajectory with some plates removed.

"Great work by the SpaceX team!!" Musk celebrated on X.

The test flight took place Tuesday after postponements on Sunday and Monday, caused first by a technical problem, and later, by poor weather conditions.

Earlier this year, previous launch attempts ended with mid-air explosions.