Video shows debris in the sky after SpaceX's Starship rocket experienced “unplanned rapid disintegration” during a flight test on January 16th. [Credit: Greg Munch /TMX]
SpaceX launched its Starship rocket Thursday on its latest test flight, but the spacecraft was destroyed after a thrilling booster catchback on the pad.
Elon Musk's company announced that the Starship had fallen apart, calling it an “unscheduled rapid dismantling.” The spacecraft's six engines appeared to shut down one by one during the ascent, and contact was lost just eight and a half minutes into the flight.
The spacecraft, which is debuting a new and upgraded model, was scheduled to fly around the world, starting in Texas and almost circling the Gulf of Mexico, just like previous test flights. SpaceX had packed 10 dummy satellites to practice the release.
SpaceX's giant rocket, Starship, will launch for a test flight from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, on Thursday, January 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) (AP Photo/Eric Gay/Associated Press)
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One minute before its loss, SpaceX used the launch tower's giant mechanical arm to catch the returning booster, a feat accomplished only once before. During the descent, the booster hovered over the launch pad and was then grabbed by a pair of arms called chopsticks.
The excitement of the catch quickly turned to disappointment, not only for the company, but also for the crowds gathered in the southern tip of Texas.
“We were happy to see the booster come down, but we're obviously disappointed with the ship,” SpaceX spokesman Dan Fott said. “This is a flight test. It's an experimental vehicle,” he emphasized.
The last data received from the spacecraft indicated an altitude of 90 miles (146 kilometers) and a speed of 13,245 miles (21,317 kilometers per hour).
SpaceX's mega-rocket Starship Booster returns to its launch pad during a test flight from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) (AP Photo/Eric Gay/Associated Press)
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Musk said preliminary analysis suggested a fuel leak may have increased pressure in a cavity above the engine's firewall. He said via X that more firefighting equipment will be added to the area, with increased ventilation and double checks for leaks.
The 400-foot-long (123-meter) rocket roared off Boca Chica Beach near the Mexican border in the late afternoon. The late hour ensured that sunlight would shine halfway around the globe in the Indian Ocean. But the shiny, retro-looking spaceship never got very far.
SpaceX has modified its spacecraft and added a satellite mockup for its latest demonstration. The test satellite was the same size as SpaceX's Starlink Internet satellite, and like a spacecraft, it was scheduled to be destroyed upon entry.
Musk plans to launch the actual Starlink on Starship before moving on to other satellites and eventually crews.
SpaceX's mega-rocket Starship Booster returns to its launch pad during a test flight from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) (AP Photo/Eric Gay/Associated Press)
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This was the seventh test flight of the world's largest and most powerful rocket. NASA has reserved a pair of Starships to land astronauts on the moon later this decade. Musk's goal is Mars.
Hours earlier in Florida, another billionaire's rocket company, Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin, launched its latest super-heavy rocket, the New Glenn. The rocket successfully reached orbit on its first flight, placing an experimental satellite thousands of miles above Earth. However, the first stage booster was destroyed and it missed its destination landing on a floating platform in the Atlantic Ocean.
