SpaceX has been known for its risk-tolerant philosophy when it comes to Starship's development. Musk has stressed that rapid and frequent testing, which sometimes leads to explosive ends, can still provide data that helps engineers improve the vehicle's design.

Starship's 10th flight test was scheduled to lift off from SpaceX's Starbase launch site in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. The company has yet to successfully complete a mission for the the stainless-steel spacecraft, which is being engineered to be fully reusable and would be able to carry up to 100 people to deep space destinations.

Flight 10's goals will be similar to those of Flight 9. SpaceX plans to bring Super Heavy down in the Gulf of Mexico about 6.5 minutes after launch and guide Ship to a controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of Western Australia, about an hour after that.