SpaceX’s mega rocket, Starship, experienced another setback on Tuesday evening after its latest test flight failed to meet key objectives. This marked the ninth demonstration for the 403-foot (123-meter) rocket, which lifted off from the company’s Starbase launch facility located at the southern tip of Texas. Earlier this month, residents in the area voted to officially incorporate as a city.
SpaceX, under the leadership of CEO Elon Musk, had intended for the flight to deploy a series of mock satellites following liftoff. However, this objective was abandoned due to a door malfunction that prevented its complete opening. Subsequently, the spacecraft began to spin as it ascended into space, ultimately leading to an uncontrolled landing in the Indian Ocean.
The company later confirmed that Starship underwent a “rapid unscheduled disassembly,” indicating that it broke apart during the flight. In an online statement, SpaceX conveyed, “Teams will continue to review data and work toward our next flight test.”
Despite the outcome, Elon Musk noted in a post on X that the flight represented a “big improvement” compared to the two previous demonstration attempts, both of which concluded with the rocket disintegrating and scattering debris over the Atlantic Ocean. Undeterred by this latest failure, Musk pledged a more accelerated launch cadence moving forward, with plans for a Starship launch approximately every three to four weeks for the next three flights.
This particular flight marked the first occasion in which one of SpaceX’s Starships — designed for future missions to the moon and Mars — utilized a recycled booster. The company had no intention of recovering this booster using the “chopsticks” method at the launch pad, instead opting to push its performance limits. Contact with the booster was lost at one point during the ascent, and it ultimately impacted the Gulf of Mexico in pieces as the spacecraft continued its trajectory towards the Indian Ocean.
The spacecraft subsequently lost control, with preliminary indications suggesting fuel leaks as a potential cause. SpaceX flight commentator Dan Huot remarked, “Not looking great with a lot of our on-orbit objectives for today.” The company had also aimed to conduct a test of the spacecraft’s heat shield during a controlled reentry into Earth’s atmosphere.
Communication with the spacecraft ceased prior to its descent, and SpaceX concluded its live webcast shortly thereafter.
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