side by side images show starship fin intact and shiny then shredding apart in a cloud of debris
This flap on Starship looked very different at the beginning and end of the plummet back to Earth.
  • SpaceX's Starship flew to space and returned, but suffered visible damage on the fall back to Earth.
  • The rocket's fin started ripping off mid-fall, and the camera lens cracked.
  • Starship's splashdown was a big step toward reusability though, and Elon Musk claimed victory.

SpaceX's Starship mega-rocket snagged a huge victory on the road to Elon Musk's Mars-settling plans on Thursday — but not without some battle scars.