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SpaceX’s ambitious Starship test flight ended in failure on Tuesday evening when the spacecraft lost control and broke apart during reentry. The 123-metre mega rocket launched from SpaceX’s Starbase facility at the southern tip of Texas on its ninth demo flight.
Initially, SpaceX had planned to deploy a series of mock satellites after liftoff, but this goal was scrapped due to a failure in the satellite bay door. Shortly after reaching space, the Starship began spinning out of control, leading to what SpaceX later termed a “rapid unscheduled disassembly,” or destruction.
CEO Elon Musk commented on X that the test flight represented “a big improvement” over previous attempts, which ended in fiery debris. SpaceX is now aiming for a faster launch cadence, with plans to launch Starship every three to four weeks for the next three flights.
This flight marked a milestone as the first to use a recycled booster, though no attempt was made to recover it. The booster disintegrated upon impact with the Gulf of Mexico. The spacecraft itself lost communication before descending uncontrollably into the Indian Ocean, reportedly due to fuel leaks.
SpaceX had hoped to test the spacecraft’s heat shield under controlled reentry conditions. However, these goals were not met, and the company’s webcast ended abruptly as communication was lost. Despite the setback, no injuries or significant damage were reported.
The Federal Aviation Administration had recently cleared Starship for this latest test flight, expanding the hazard area and adjusting liftoff timing to avoid peak air travel. SpaceX had made upgrades to the spacecraft, including modified thermal tiles and special fittings intended to enable future booster recoveries at the launch site.
NASA is relying on SpaceX’s progress with Starship, the world’s largest and most powerful rocket, to support upcoming lunar missions. A crewed flyby of the moon is planned for next year, with a lunar landing expected no earlier than 2027.
