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.

The first full-scale static test fire of the Booster Obsolescence and Life Extension (BOLE) solid rocket motor for NASA’s Space Launch System rocket was conducted in Utah. The booster suffered an anomaly during near the end of the test. Credit: NASA Marshall Space Flight Center | edited by Space.com's Steve Spaleta

SpaceX on Tuesday night launched the 10th test flight of its giant Super Heavy-Starship rocket, a milestone mission to demonstrate fixes and upgrades in the wake of three catastrophic failures earlier this year.