Live updates: SpaceX stands down from 2nd attempt to launch 10th Starship test flight

SpaceX's Starship is shown here prepared for launch as the Beaver moon rises near Brownsville, Texas, on November 15, 2024. Joe Skipper/Reuters

At the end of 2024, SpaceX was on a high, having soared through three consecutive test flights that concluded with Starship making a controlled splashdown.

But this year, SpaceX debuted a new generation of Starship — which has a 25% larger fuel tank, new avionics and upgraded flight computers compared with the version that flew last year.

And this new iteration has hit one snag after another.

Its first flight test in January ended with an explosion less than 10 minutes into the mission, showering debris over the populated archipelago of Turks and Caicos, where residents found truckloads of rocket detritus on roadways and beaches. A car was also struck with debris.

A similar fate awaited the next flight in March, with debris washing up in the Bahamas. And while the test flight in May displayed marked improvement, with Starship making it all the way through its engine burn, the vehicle ultimately lost control due to pressurization issues and was destroyed during reentry.

While SpaceX has always made the case that it's going for progress — not perfection — it is possible the company will retire the current generation of Starship vehicles before one ever conducts a pristine flight test.

“Two flights remain with the current generation, each with test objectives designed to expand the envelope on vehicle capabilities,” according to the company blog post.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has already been teasing plans for larger, more ambitious iterations of the vehicle that would stretch even taller.