Very bright SpaceX Starship IFT Test Flight 11 rocket soars south of Florida from West to East and very low in the sky above the horizon – as seen from a distance over 400 hundred miles away. Looking like a comet streaking across the sky – after launch at 723 pm ET from Starbase, Tx. Credit: Ken Kremer/SpaceUpClose.com
TITUSVILLE, FL – After multiple explosive and catastrophic failures over the past year SpaceX was able to complete a very successful final test flight of its mammoth Starship Super Heavy rocket – and it was briefly visible to us here in central Florida just after sunset on Oct. 13.
Notably this was the final flight of the Starship Super Heavy Version 2 rocket
Notably this was the final flight of the Starship Super Heavy Version 2 rocket
The over 400-foot-tall SpaceX Starship IFT Test Flight 11 rocket launched at 7:23 p.m. ET from Starbase, Texas launch site and was seen by us for about 30 seconds or so and very low in the sky looking south at a distance of several hundred miles away
60 sec Timelapse streak shot of SpaceX Starship IFT Test Flight 11 rocket soars south of Florida from West to East and very low in the sky above the horizon – as seen from a distance over 400 hundred miles away. After launch at 723 pm ET from Starbase, Tx. Credit: Ken Kremer/SpaceUpClose.com
It flew west to east very low in the sky about 15 degrees above the horizon. It was very bright with a very long flame – looking like a comet streaking across the sky.
Very bright SpaceX Starship IFT Test Flight 11 rocket soars south of Florida from West to East and very low in the sky above the horizon – as seen from a distance over 400 hundred miles away. Looking like a comet streaking across the sky – after launch at 723 pm ET from Starbase, Tx. Credit: Ken Kremer/SpaceUpClose.com
We did apparently see the 1st and 2nd stages separate
My photos for Space UpClose shows it flying at the tree line from my vantage point in Titusville
Very bright SpaceX Starship IFT Test Flight 11 rocket soars south of Florida from West to East and very low in the sky above the horizon – as seen from a distance over 400 hundred miles away. Looking like a comet streaking across the sky – after launch at 723 pm ET from Starbase, Tx. Credit: Ken Kremer/SpaceUpClose.com
Both stages were successful and expended and landed in the Gulf and Pacific Ocean respectively as planned
This marked the second and last launch for the Super Heavy B15 first stage. It first flew on Starship Test Flight 8 in March 2025.
The Starship upper stage flew as tail number S38
60 sec Timelapse streak shot of SpaceX Starship IFT Test Flight 11 rocket soars south of Florida from West to East and very low in the sky above the horizon – as seen from a distance over 400 hundred miles away. After launch at 723 pm ET from Starbase, Tx. Credit: Ken Kremer/SpaceUpClose.com
SpaceX says that the new and vastly upgraded version 3 of Starship-Super Heavy will launch sometime in early 2026
Artist’s rendering of the Human Landing System version of Starship docking with NASA’s Orion spacecraft in lunar orbit. Graphic: SpaceX
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The eighth flight test of SpaceX Starship exploded on March 6, 2025 about 8 minutes after launch while soaring over the Caribbean following liftoff from Starbase in Texas at 6:30 PM ET. As seen from on board Venezia Carnival Cruise line ship. Credit: Ken Kremer/Space Upclose.com
Watch for Ken’s continuing onsite coverage of NASA, SpaceX, ULA, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and more space and mission reports direct from Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida and Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Stay tuned here for Ken's continuing Earth and Planetary science and human spaceflight news. Dr. Kremer is a research scientist and journalist based in the KSC area, active in outreach and interviewed regularly on TV and radio about space topics. Ken’s photos are for sale and he is available for lectures and outreach events.
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