2025 Aviation Week Photo Contest Editors’ Picks: Space

Starship 8 at Max Q during ascent on March 6.

Rocket launches at sunrise and sunset are special. The launch of the United Launch Alliance Vulcan's second flight was no exception. This beautiful rocket powered through a nozzle failure, proving its reliability for future Space Force missions.

In the golden grasp of a Texas sunset on March 6, SpaceX's Integrated Flight Test 8 erupted from Starbase at 5:30 p.m. Super Heavy Booster 15, powered by 33 Raptor engines, clawed skyward above the billowing flames and smoke. This mission, pairing Booster 15 with Ship 34, pursued ambitious objectives: launch, boost-back burn, tower catch, in-space engine relight, deployment of four satellites, heat shield testing and a targeted splashdown in the Indian Ocean. The image embodies the ancient mythology of the Phoenix's eternal rebirth, but it also represents SpaceX's iterative fiery failures and tests that ultimately give birth to humanity's boldest accomplishments and dreams.

SpaceX's Starship Flight Test 8 delivered a mixed verdict for the Block 2 program: triumph for the Super Heavy Booster, tragedy for the upper stage. Aiming for a controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean, Ship 34 suffered a Raptor engine failure, igniting a fire in the engine bay and leading to the vehicle failing catastrophically over Florida and the Bahamas—captured dramatically from Central Florida. This marked the second such ascent-phase loss for a Block 2 Starship.

Vega-C during gantry removal before its launch with the European Space Agency's Earth Explorer Biomass satellite 29 in April 2025 Europe's Space Port French Guiana.

The vent on the left is designed to channel exhaust from Ariane 62 (background), which carried the European Space Agency's MetOp-SG A1 meteorological satellite into orbit on Aug. 11 from Europe's Space Port in French Guiana.

The Sun rises behind Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at Kennedy Space Center hours before the launch of NASA Crew 11 to the International Space Station. The Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon capsule Endeavor that would carry the crew to orbit are silhouetted against the disc of the Sun alongside the launch and catch tower for Starship at LC-39A. The Mobile Launcher 2 for NASA's Space Launch System, which is under construction outside the Vehicle Assembly Building, is to the right of the frame.

SpaceX's Super Heavy Booster was successfully recovered after the Starship 8 launch on March 6.