by SpaceX launched its Starship rocket on its final test flight on Thursday, but the spacecraft was destroyed at the launch site after a thrilling booster catch.
Elon Musk’s company said Starship had broken apart – what it described as a “rapid, unscheduled dismantling.” The spacecraft’s six engines appeared to shut down one by one during the ascent, and contact was lost just 8 1/2 minutes into the flight.
The spacecraft – a new and improved model making its debut – was scheduled to fly from Texas on a near-loop around the world over the Gulf of Mexico, similar to previous test flights. SpaceX had packed it with 10 dummy satellites to practice launching.
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A minute before the loss, SpaceX used the launch tower’s giant mechanical arms to catch the returning launch vehicle, a feat achieved only once before. The descending launch vehicle hovered over the launch pad before being grasped by two arms called rods.
The thrill of the catch quickly turned into disappointment, not only for the company but also for the crowds gathered at the southern tip of Texas.
“It was great to see a launch vehicle come down, but we are obviously disappointed with the ship,” SpaceX spokesman Dan Huot said. “It’s a flight test. “It is a test vehicle,” he emphasized.
The final data received from the spacecraft showed an altitude of 90 miles (146 kilometers) and a speed of 13,245 miles per hour (21,317 km/h).
Musk said a preliminary analysis suggested that leaking fuel may have built up pressure in a cavity above the engine firewall. The area will be equipped with fire suppression, with increased ventilation and double checking for leaks, he said of X.
The 123 meter high rocket thundered away from Boca Chica Beach near the Mexican border in the late afternoon. The late hour allowed daylight to fly halfway around the world into the Indian Ocean. But the shiny, retro-looking spaceship never came close.
SpaceX had made improvements to the Starship and added a fleet of satellite models for the latest demo. The test satellites were the same size as SpaceX’s Starlink internet satellites and, like the spacecraft, were intended to be destroyed upon entry.
Musk plans to launch real Starlinks on spacecraft before moving on to other satellites and eventually crews.
It was the seventh test flight for the world’s largest and most powerful rocket. NASA has reserved two spacecraft to land astronauts on the moon later this decade. Musk’s goal is Mars.
Hours earlier in Florida, another billionaire rocket maker – Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin – launched its latest supersized rocket, New Glenn. The rocket reached orbit on its first flight and successfully placed an experimental satellite thousands of miles above Earth. But the first stage booster was destroyed and missed its planned landing on a floating platform in the Atlantic.
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