SpaceX’s Starship rocket on Tuesday deployed its first batch of mock Starlink satellites in space and tested new heat shield tiles on its plunge through Earth’s atmosphere, clinching development milestones that had been held up by a streak of previous testing failures.

SpaceX launched the latest test of its mega rocket Starship on Tuesday night and completed the first-ever deployment of a test payload — eight dummy satellites — into space. After just over an hour coasting through space, Starship splashed down as planned in the Indian Ocean.