SpaceX launches the 11th test flight of its mega Starship rocket with another win

SpaceX launched another of its mammoth Starship rockets on a test flight Monday, successfully making it halfway around the world while releasing mock satellites like last time.

Starship — the biggest and most powerful rocket ever built — thundered into the evening sky from the southern tip of Texas. The booster peeled away and made a controlled entry into the Gulf of Mexico as planned, with the spacecraft skimming space before descending into the Indian Ocean. Nothing was recovered.

“Hey, welcome back to Earth, Starship,” SpaceX's Dan Huot announced as employees cheered. “What a day.”

It was the 11th test flight for a full-scale Starship, which SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk intends to use to send people to Mars. NASA’s need is more immediate. The space agency cannot land astronauts on the moon by decade's end without the 403-foot (123-meter) Starship, the reusable vehicle meant to get them from lunar orbit down to the surface and back up.

Instead of remaining inside Launch Control as usual, Musk said that for the first time he was going outside to watch — “much more visceral.”

The previous test flight in August — a success after a string of explosive failures — followed a similar path with similar goals. More maneuvering was built in this time, especially for the spacecraft. SpaceX conducted a series of tests during the spacecraft's entry over the Indian Ocean as practice for future landings back at the launch site.

Like before, Starship carried up eight mock satellites mimicking SpaceX’s Starlinks. The entire flight lasted just over an hour, originating from Starbase near the Mexican border.

NASA’s acting administrator Sean Duffy praised Starship’s progress. “Another major step toward landing Americans on the moon’s south pole,” he said via X.

SpaceX is modifying its Cape Canaveral launch sites to accommodate Starships, in addition to the much smaller Falcon rockets used to transport astronauts and supplies to the International Space Station for NASA.

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SpaceX's mega rocket and booster separate during a test flight from Starbase, Texas, Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

SpaceX's mega rocket booster returns to the gulf during a test flight from Starbase, Texas, Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

SpaceX's mega rocket Starship makes a test flight from Starbase, Texas, Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

SpaceX's mega rocket Starship makes a test flight from Starbase, Texas, Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

SpaceX's mega rocket Starship makes a test flight from Starbase, Texas, Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

SpaceX's mega rocket Starship makes a test flight from Starbase, Texas, Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

SpaceX's mega rocket Starship makes a test flight from Starbase, Texas, Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

SpaceX's mega rocket Starship is prepared for a test flight from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

SpaceX's mega rocket Starship is prepared for a test flight from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The biennial Dubai Air Show opened Monday with hometown airline Emirates ordering 65 of Boeing's upcoming 777-9 aircraft, as the carrier looks to increase its fleets off record earnings and unending demand for flights through this East-West travel hub.

Emirates valued the deal with Boeing and GE Engines at $38 billion at list prices, although airlines often negotiate lower prices in major orders.

The announcement brings the total of Boeing 777-9s on order for Emirates to 270, making it Boeing's largest customer for the aircraft, even as the plane has suffered repeated delays in entering service. Emirates relies heavily on the double-decker Airbus A380 and the Boeing 777, and has also started flying the Airbus A350.

“It’s a long-term commitment that supports hundreds of thousands of high-value factory jobs, and it reinforces our 40-year partnership with Boeing and GE,” said Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the chairman and chief executive of Emirates.

“Emirates is already the world’s largest operator of the 777 — all powered by the GE engines — and after today's order, I expect to remain the biggest 777 operator for the years to come.”

Sheikh Ahmed added that Emirates continued to encourage manufacturers to build larger aircraft with more capacity as air travel is only expected to grow. However, he smiled and looked at Boeing when putting forward his hoped-for timeline for putting the 777-9 in service for Emirates.

“We look forward to receiving delivery of our first 777-9s starting from the second quarter of 2027,” he said.

Stephanie Pope, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, offered no timeline for the plane's entry to service in her brief remarks.

“The 777-9 will further support Emirates mission to connect people and places around the globe like never before,” she said.

The officials took no questions from journalists after the announcement.

The air show will also see renewed interest in flying taxis, something the sheikhdom long has promised and now hopes to deliver on next year. Military sales as well remain a focus, with Russia again taking part despite facing Western sanctions over its grinding, yearslong war on Ukraine. Meanwhile, Israeli firms won't be attending over lingering anger from the devastating Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.

Emirates, the state-owned flagship airline of Dubai, earned annual profits of $5.2 billion in the last fiscal year and passenger numbers remain record-breaking at Dubai International Airport, the world's busiest for international travel. The airline made a $52 billion purchase of Boeing Co. aircraft at the 2023 edition of the air show, which takes place at Al Maktoum International Airport at Dubai World Central.

FlyDubai, the lower-cost sister to Emirates, also has seen record-breaking earnings, and likely wants to expand its fleet of single-aisle aircraft. The airline currently flies 95 Boeing 737 variants, with Airbus wanting to break into the carrier's fleet. FlyDubai ordered $11 billion worth of 30 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners at the last air show, which when delivered will be the airline's first wide-body aircraft.

Al Maktoum airport itself is on the agenda for Dubai's government. It plans a $35 billion project to expand to five parallel runways and 400 aircraft gates, to be completed within the next decade. The airport now has just two runways, like Dubai International Airport. Those additional slots coming online will help Emirates and FlyDubai grow their network, and require more aircraft to fly those routes.

Meanwhile, Rosoboronexport, Russia’s main arms exporter, displayed its aircraft and weapons systems at a massive pavilion at the far end of the air show. The UAE has maintained economic ties and flights to Moscow despite the war on Ukraine and Western nations levying heavy sanctions on the country.

Rosoboronexport showcased a stealth fighter, the Sukhoi Su-57, and the full-scale Pantzir-SMD-E surface-to-air missile system. Air defense systems have taken on a new importance in the Mideast after Qatar came under attack by both Israel and Iran this year. Iran also saw its systems devastated by Israel in a 12-day war between the countries in June.

Underscoring the UAE's ties to Russia, the Emirati president and ruler of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, walked through the Russian pavilion first thing Monday. He stopped to watch a short video with graphics of a Russian drone striking an armored vehicle. Sheikh Mohammed, himself a helicopter pilot, walked up the stairs to look in the cockpit of the Su-57 as well.

Earlier, U.S. fighter pilots from the 55th Fighter Squadron, which flies F-16 Fighting Falcons, stopped to look at the Su-57. Asked if they thought they could shoot it down, one airman smiled and just said: “It looks cool.”

Stephanie Pope, President and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, left, and Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President, Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and Chairman of Emirates airlines, shake hands after signing an agreement to order 65 additional Boeing 777X aircrafts during a press conference on the opening day of the Dubai Air Show, United Arab Emirates, Monday, Nov. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Stephanie Pope, President and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, left, and Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President, Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and Chairman of Emirates airlines, sign an agreement to order 65 additional Boeing 777X aircrafts, during a press conference on the opening day of the Dubai Air Show, United Arab Emirates, Monday, Nov. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Stephanie Pope, President and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, left, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President, Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and Chairman of Emirates airlines, speak during a press conference on the opening day of the Dubai Air Show, United Arab Emirates, Monday, Nov. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Stephanie Pope, President and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, left, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President, Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and Chairman of Emirates airlines, centre, and Mahendra Nair, group vice-president GE Aerospace, pose during a press conference on the opening day of the Dubai Air Show, United Arab Emirates, Monday, Nov. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

FILE - An Emirates Airlines Boeing 777 lands at Logan International Airport in Boston, March 10, 2014. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File)