SpaceX has shared fresh images of its Starship upper stage rocket as it splashed down in the Indian Ocean after successfully completing Flight 10. Flight 10 marked a major milestone for SpaceX as it saw the firm meet all major test objectives for the ship and the Super Heavy booster. For the ship, the test flight was unique as it saw the rocket covered in orange as it started to descend into the water. SpaceX has remained silent about the reasons behind this anomaly, but it likely stems from stressing the rocket to its limit and using a variety of heat shield tiles during the test.
SpaceX's Upper Stage Starship Was Covered In Orange As It Landed During Flight 10
Starship Flight 10 was a key test for the upper stage ship as it had yet to achieve any major test objectives in 2025. Starship Flights 7, 8 and 9 had all ended in failure, with the ship managing to reach its suborbital trajectory only in Flight 9 before losing control during atmospheric reentry. As a result, the bar was high for the ship in Flight 10, and the rocket met its objectives with flying colors earlier this week.
After the test, SpaceX has shared images and landing footage of the ship for the first time. These show an uncanny orange coloring of its leeward, or Earth-facing, side. The fresh visuals follow rather dramatic footage of the Super Heavy booster, which showed the rocket's 33 engines firing in unison at the time of liftoff.
The key standout feature of the latest Starship upper stage images shared by SpaceX is the discoloration of the ship's heatshield. The heatshield, according to Elon Musk, is one of the most complex pieces of equipment on the rocket. Its complexity stems from the fact that SpaceX is designing the shield to be fully reusable in order to enable a rapid Starship flight cadence.
During Flight 10, SpaceX continued to test the heat shield. Ahead of the test, the firm explained that it was using metallic heat shield tiles and leaving some gaps within the tile installation to test the shield's performance. These upgrades appear to have been responsible for the discoloration on the ship as Flight 10 ended.
The key standout feature of the latest Starship upper stage images shared by SpaceX is the discoloration of the ship's heat shield. The heatshield, according to Elon Musk, is one of the most complex pieces of equipment on the rocket. Its complexity stems from the fact that SpaceX is designing the shield to be fully reusable in order to enable a rapid Starship flight cadence.
During Flight 10, SpaceX continued to test the heat shield. Ahead of the test, the firm explained that it was using metallic heat shield tiles and leaving some gaps within the tile installation to test the shield's performance. These upgrades appear to have been responsible for the discoloration on the ship as Flight 10 ended.
According to Musk, the "red color is from some metallic test tiles that oxidized and the white is from insulation of areas where we deliberately removed tiles." The latest images from SpaceX also counter speculation that had claimed that the ship had lost most of its heatshield tiles during reentry. Loose tiles have been a key problem with Starship, and Musk confirmed that "the heat shield tiles almost entirely stayed attached [during Flight 10], so the latest upgrades are looking good!"
Apart from satisfactory performance of the heatshield, the ship also successfully fired a Raptor engine in space and launched dummy Starlink satellites. Both these tests are crucial for Starship's long-term progress since they will enable SpaceX to rapidly expand Starlink coverage and gain the FAA's approval for Starship's orbital test flights.
An in-space engine reigniton demonstrates to the space agency that SpaceX will be able to control the rocket should it place it on an orbital trajectory, while Starlink, which now serves over seven million people across 150 countries needs to upgrade its capacity to keep up with user growth.
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.
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