Starship 7 test

Starship Flight Test 7 launches from Starbase, Texas with Booster-14 (Block 2) and Ship-33 (first Block 2 upper stage). The mission carries ten Starlink “simulators” on a suborbital trajectory and tries new avionics, upgraded heat shield tiles, and reentry experiments. Booster-14 returns and is caught by the tower via the “chopstick” arms, undamaged and reusable. However, Ship-33 (upper stage) loses telemetry and suffers engine shutdowns late in ascent; it breaks apart mid-flight over the Turks and Caicos Islands. Musk:

Starship made it to the scheduled ship engine cutoff, so big improvement over last flight! Also, no significant loss of heat shield tiles during ascent. Leaks caused loss of main tank pressure during the coast and re-entry phase. Lot of good data to review. Launch cadence for next 3 flights will be faster, at approximately 1 every 3 to 4 weeks.

Starship made it to the scheduled ship engine cutoff, so big improvement over last flight! Also, no significant loss of heat shield tiles during ascent.

Leaks caused loss of main tank pressure during the coast and re-entry phase. Lot of good data to review.

Launch cadence for…

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 28, 2025