SpaceX launched the 10th test flight of the company's Starship rocket Tuesday evening, sending the stainless steel spacecraft halfway around the world to an on-target splashdown in the Indian Ocean. The largely successful mission for the world's largest rocket was an important milestone for SpaceX's Starship program after months of repeated setbacks,

The uncrewed, experimental rocket took off around 6:30 p.m. Central time from a launchpad in South Texas and successfully separated with the spacecraft minutes later. The booster then powered down over the Gulf of Mexico, where it splashed into the water; SpaceX did not try for the dramatic reusable landing it achieved last year.