Starship's previous six test flights occurred in April and November of 2023 and March, June, October and November of last year. SpaceX aimed to conduct a chopsticks catch of Super Heavy on Flight 6 as well, but a communication issue with the launch tower nixed that try, and the booster diverted for a Gulf of Mexico splashdown.

For the second time, SpaceX used giant mechanical arms to catch its Starship rocket back at the pad minutes after liftoff Thursday. At the same time, the empty spacecraft launched from Texas soared across the Gulf of Mexico on a near loop around the world similar to previous test flights.