Watch a charred SpaceX Starship land in the ocean after acing Flight Test 11 (video)

Epic new video from this week’s Starship launch show’s the giant spacecraft’s final moments just before it splashed down in the Indian ocean.

Starship lifted off on its eleventh test flight Monday, Oct. 13, from SpaceX’s Starbase facility in South Texas. It was the final launch of the current, 397-foot-tall (121-meter-tall) version of the Super Heavy booster and Ship upper stage; a taller variant is set to debut on Starship flight 12.

Similar to Starship’s tenth flight, Flight Test 11 was a complete success, and even fared better than its predecessor, which took more physical damage during its descent back through Earth’s atmosphere. SpaceX posted new footage from Monday’s mission that makes that even clearer, showing significantly less distress to the vehicle, compared to Flight 10, and far less discoloration to the spacecraft’s heatshield.

Flight Test 11 achieved all of its mission goals, from launch to booster descent and splashdown in the Gulf, and Ship’s successful splashdown in the Indian Ocean. It was the second launch for the flight’s Super Heavy booster. It’s also the second test flight in a row that Starship has accomplished all SpaceX hoped it would, and a positive step forward in the rocket’s development.

The spacecraft managed, once again, to deploy a stack of eight simulated Starlink satellites, and successfully initiated a Raptor engine relight while in space. But this week’s launch diverted from Flight 10’s mission profile with variations in some of the vehicle’s engine burn profiles — performed in preparation for the rocket’s upgraded version 3.

The upper stage’s landing burn, especially, differed from its previous flight, and this time mimicked the approach it will need for a return to its launch site, where the rocket’s launch tower is designed to catch and secure Starship during its landing burn midair.

SpaceX cameras secured to drones and buoys captured Starship’s descent through the clouds in crystal clear detail. The video tracks the vehicle as it initiated its novel flip-and-burn landing maneuver that transitions Starship from a ‘bellyflop’ position to an upright orientation, as its engines oriented the vehicle and slowed its momentum.