Starship's giant first-stage booster, named Super Heavy, has performed better as of late. For example, the booster successfully returned to Starbase for a dramatic catch by the launch tower's "chopstick" arms on both Flight 7 and Flight 8.

SpaceX will attempt for a second time to launch Starship's 10th test flight on Monday from southern Texas. The launch window will open at 7:30 p.m. SpaceX said it has implemented hardware and operational changes to increase the reliability of Starship.

After setbacks during the last three launches of Starship, Elon Musk’s rocket company splashed down in the Indian Ocean on Tuesday night.