SpaceX Launched a new one Starship The rocket on Thursday, this time to practice a cargo delivery with the upgraded spacecraft and 10 mock satellites. space.
But things did not go as planned. Although the company successfully captures the booster with the giant mechanical arms on the launchpad, flight controllers lose contact with the unidentified spacecraft, ending the test prematurely after it breaks up.
StarshipA 400-foot-tall, super-heavy-lift rocket and spaceship blasted off from the aerospace company’s private spaceport in Boca Chica, Texas shortly after 4:30 pm CST / 5:30 pm EST / 2:30 pm PST. . The test flight was the seventh of the rocket system, and was broadcast on both of SpaceX’s Website and X, the social platform acquired by the business’s billionaire founder Elon Musk.
The expected one-hour test of the starship went awry when controllers lost communication with the ship about 8.5 minutes into the flight — long before the spacecraft’s intended splashdown in the Indian Ocean. Videos on X reportedly showed it disintegrating and re-entering Earth’s atmosphere, including A clip shared by Musk. It was not immediately known if there was any damage due to rain debris.
“We’re obviously upset about the spacecraft,” said Dan Huot, a SpaceX spokesman and launch commentator. “Reminder: This is a test, this is a flight test, this is an experimental vehicle, so we’ll figure out what our day ends today and make sure our day doesn’t end tomorrow.”
Mechanical weapons on the starship launch tower successfully captured the returning booster during the seventh flight test on 16 January.
Credit: SpaceX screenshot
SpaceX has faced criticism for its previous Starship Test failures. Its executives insist that building fast, scrapping expensive hardware, and learning quickly from mistakes are all part of the company’s philosophy—quite the opposite. NASAhas very slow access.
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Musk has Complained that federal regulations restrict his company, restricting its progress and ability to conduct rapid tests on starships. Industry watchers have speculated that Musk’s new invention close relationship With the president-elect Donald Trump That can remove some of the bureaucratic red tape.
The exam came on the same day as a competitor blue originThe first launch of a New Glenn rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida. 320 feet rocket Successfully reached orbit Thursday morning, although the booster did not land on the ocean barge as planned, company executives acknowledged that it was an ambitious goal for the brand new launch vehicle. Two massive rocket demonstrations are a testament to the accelerating commercial space industry.
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SpaceX’s primary objectives were to stress-test the new aircraft and avionics, hold the booster on the launchpad for possible reuse, deploy dummy satellites into space, and perform a targeted water landing. It was not immediately known what caused the redesigned spaceship to fail.
Trump apparently did not watch the flight show as he did One in November 2024. During the previous test, SpaceX had stopped holding the rocket booster due to a communication glitch with the launch tower, although the acquisition was successful. October test.
This time, Booster again reverts to robotic “chopsticks” as planned, greeting South Texas with its roaring sonic boom.
“It was incredible to see it come back down, just the silver glow in the sky, and we could still see the launch plume behind us,” said SpaceX launch host, Katie Tice. “It was very moving for me.”
Starship flew into space on January 16 during its seventh test, shortly before flight controllers lost contact with the spacecraft.
Credit: SpaceX screenshot
NASA will rely on a rocket company to send astronauts to the lunar surface on a modified starship. Artemis III and IV Under a $4.2 billion contract, the moon mission is to do this, SpaceX must first master the Refueling its spacecraft in space. For Musk, Starship is also a passion project to send people to Mars and build a self-sustaining city on the Red Planet.
The starship took off on Thursday with a reused engine from the returned booster The fifth test.
