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SpaceX catches booster but loses Starship spacecraft in latest test

The spacecraft's six engines appeared to shut down one by one during ascent, with contact lost just eight and a half minutes into the flight

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SpaceX launched its Starship rocket on its latest test flight Thursday, but the spacecraft was destroyed following a thrilling booster catch back at the pad.

Elon Musk’s company said Starship broke apart — what it called a “rapid unscheduled disassembly.” The spacecraft’s six engines appeared to shut down one by one during ascent, with contact lost just eight and a half minutes into the flight.

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The spacecraft — a new and upgraded model making its debut — was supposed to soar across the Gulf of Mexico from Texas on a near loop around the world, similar to previous test flights. SpaceX had packed it with 10 dummy satellites for practice at releasing them.

A minute before the loss, SpaceX used the launch tower’s giant mechanical arms to catch the returning booster, a feat achieved only once before. The descending booster hovered over the launch pad before being gripped by the pair of arms dubbed chopsticks.

In this screen grab taken from the SpaceX broadcast the Starship’s Super Heavy Booster is being grappled mid-air as it returns to the launch pad at Starbase near Boca Chica, Texas, on Jan. 16, 2025.
In this screen grab taken from the SpaceX broadcast the Starship’s Super Heavy Booster is being grappled mid-air as it returns to the launch pad at Starbase near Boca Chica, Texas, on Jan. 16, 2025. Photo by SpaceX /Getty

The thrill of the catch quickly turned into disappointment for not only the company, but the crowds gathered along the southern tip of Texas.

“It was great to see a booster come down, but we are obviously bummed out about ship,” said SpaceX spokesman Dan Huot. “It’s a flight test. It’s an experimental vehicle,” he stressed.

The last data received from the spacecraft indicated an altitude of 146 kilometres and a velocity of 21,317 kph.

Musk said a preliminary analysis suggests leaking fuel may have built up pressure in a cavity above the engine firewall. Fire suppression will be added to the area, with increased venting and double-checking for leaks, he said via X.

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The 123-metre-tall rocket had thundered away in late afternoon from Boca Chica Beach near the Mexican border. The late hour ensured a daylight entry halfway around the world in the Indian Ocean. But the shiny retro-looking spacecraft never got that far.

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  1. This still image taken from a SpaceX broadcast shows the Starship launching on its fourth flight test from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, on June 6, 2024.
    Starship rocket completes fourth test flight without exploding
  2. An image from a SpaceX video shows the Starship exploding after launch after failing to separate from its booster.
    Starship launch ends in rapid unscheduled disassembly — ka-boom!

SpaceX had made improvements to the spacecraft for the latest demo and added a fleet of satellite mockups. The test satellites were the same size as SpaceX’s Starlink internet satellites and, like the spacecraft, were meant to be destroyed upon entry.

Musk plans to launch actual Starlinks on Starships before moving on to other satellites and, eventually, crews.

It was the seventh test flight for the world’s biggest 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 the newest supersized rocket, New Glenn. The rocket reached orbit on its first flight, successfully placing an experimental satellite thousands of miles above Earth. But the first-stage booster was destroyed, missing its targeted landing on a floating platform in the Atlantic.

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