After appearing to stand down yesterday, SpaceX has static fired the rocket that could fly Starship Flight 9 for the first time. The test occurred late at night yesterday in Texas. The test was relatively short compared to other static fires, indicating that SpaceX is taking it slow with the troublesome second stage, which has already failed twice during flight. The second-stage rocket is a new design, and it flew for the first time in January on Starship Flight 7. The rocket then flew in March, and the second flight also ended in failure like the previous one.
SpaceX Static Fires Starship Second Stage, Potentially For Flight 9, For First Time In Texas
The delay between Starship Flight 8 and Flight 9 is quite long compared to the gap between previous test flights. SpaceX had picked up the pace after Starship Flight 5 and started to fly its rockets in less than two months. However, Flight 9 will take longer than that, considering that SpaceX has just started its testing campaign for the mission's second stage.
The first static fire for Starship Flight 9 occurred early last month when SpaceX fired the Super Heavy booster which had first flown on Starship Flight 7. The upcoming flight will be the first test in which SpaceX reuses a Super Heavy booster. A successful booster reuse will be key for the firm as it will progress on the first stage rocket even as it has struggled with the upper-stage rocket.
This stage first flew on Flight 7, but it was unable to successfully complete its mission objectives. Among others, these included evaluating new heat shield tiles and hardware to enable a ship recovery.
After the ship exploded during flight and sent debris raining over the Caribbean, SpaceX explained that vibrations in the ship's propellant system had led to a fire in its bottom portion, which led to engine shutdown. The firm quickly turned around and flew Starship Flight 8 in a little less than two months after Flight 7.
However, Flight 8 also ended in a disaster as the second-stage ship once again exploded before it could complete its ascent burn. The failure's profile was similar to Flight 8, and since then, there has been little activity when it comes to the second-stage ship.
SpaceX picked up the pace with second-stage testing earlier this week after it transported the rocket to its testing facilities in Texas. A first test run saw the firm fill the rocket's tanks with propellants to levels typically seen before a static fire attempt. However, SpaceX emptied the tanks later on and waited before static firing the ship for the first time late last night in Texas.
Footage from local media shows that the upper-stage ship that could potentially fly on Flight 9 fired roughly for eight seconds yesterday. SpaceX is yet to confirm the test or whether the ship tested will fly on Flight 9. The test objectives, particularly for the upper stage, for the next test, are unclear given the problems that the rocket has faced in the two earlier tests.
Ship 35 has performed a short duration static fire, following what appeared to be an aborted attempt the previous night. pic.twitter.com/LYx8LjA89J
— LabPadre Space (@LabPadre) May 1, 2025
About the author: Ramish is a seasoned technology writer and editor with more than a decade of experience. He specializes in semiconductor fabrication and market analysis. With a background in finance and supply chain management - via his bachelors in Finance and a micromasters in supply chain management from MIT - Ramish combines financial rigor with deep industry insight to deliver accurate and authoritative coverage.
Follow Wccftech on Google to get more of our news coverage in your feeds.
