The consecutive failures may have decreased the likelihood SpaceX can meet NASA’s goal of landing on the moon in 2027, experts said.

Elon Musk hailed Starship’s latest test flight as a “big improvement” despite his rocket appearing to explode into pieces during its return to Earth on Wednesday morning.

SpaceX has faced criticism for its previous Starship test failures. Its executives insist that building fast, destroying expensive hardware, and learning quickly from mistakes are all part of the company's philosophy — in stark contrast with NASA 's much slower approach.

SpaceX will attempt its ninth test flight of the Starship rocket at around 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. TRACKING WHAT DOGE IS DOING ACROSS THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT The previous two launches failed catastrophically,