SpaceX fired up its massive Starship rocket for the ninth time Tuesday evening, hoping to build on recent progress after two explosive demo flights. But despite a powerful launch, the mission fell short when the spacecraft tumbled out of control and broke apart before completing its main objectives.

The 403-foot (123-meter) Starship blasted off from SpaceX’s Starbase launch facility in southern Texas — a community that recently voted to officially become a city. The launch marked the first time SpaceX flew a Starship with a recycled booster, pushing the hardware to its limits.

What Went Wrong?

SpaceX aimed to release a series of mock satellites after liftoff, but the plan hit a snag when the spacecraft’s cargo door failed to open fully. Soon after, the rocket began spinning uncontrollably as it ascended, eventually heading toward an unplanned, uncontrolled splashdown in the Indian Ocean.

SpaceX confirmed the spacecraft suffered a “rapid unscheduled disassembly” — a polite way of saying it broke apart mid-flight. The company said it will analyze flight data and work toward improving the next test.

Elon Musk Sees Progress Amid Setbacks

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk acknowledged on X (formerly Twitter) that this flight was a “big improvement” over the previous two, which ended in fiery crashes over the Atlantic. He pledged to ramp up the testing pace, with Starship launches planned every three to four weeks for the next several flights.

Unlike previous attempts, SpaceX did not try to catch the booster upon return with its giant mechanical arms—sometimes called “chopsticks.” Instead, the booster was allowed to crash into the Gulf of Mexico in pieces after losing communication mid-flight. Meanwhile, the main Starship continued on its unstable trajectory.

Technical Challenges and What’s Next

Fuel leaks apparently caused the spacecraft’s loss of control. SpaceX flight commentator Dan Huot admitted, “Not looking great with a lot of our on-orbit objectives for today,” referring to the failure to test the spacecraft’s heat shield during a controlled reentry.

Communication with the rocket ended shortly before it crashed, and SpaceX ended its live webcast soon after.

Background and Bigger Picture

This launch follows two previous Starship demo flights earlier this year, both of which failed minutes after liftoff, sending wreckage raining down in the Caribbean. Thankfully, no injuries or serious damage were reported, though airline traffic was disrupted.

The Federal Aviation Administration recently gave SpaceX clearance for this flight, expanding the safety hazard zone and scheduling launches outside peak air traffic times.

In preparation for future missions, SpaceX modified the spacecraft’s thermal protection tiles and installed catch fittings designed to enable future recovery of Starships back on the launch pad—similar to how they recover boosters.

Why It Matters: NASA and the Moon Mission

Starship is the largest and most powerful rocket ever built, and NASA is counting on SpaceX to make significant progress in the next year. The goal? To use Starship for upcoming moon missions, including a 2026 flight carrying four astronauts that will orbit the moon (but not land).

Landing astronauts on the lunar surface won’t happen until at least 2027, and it will require Starship to safely transport crew from lunar orbit to the surface and back.

SpaceX’s Starship program continues to push boundaries with each test flight — even when the rocket doesn’t land as planned. With improvements in the pipeline and an aggressive launch schedule, the journey to Mars and beyond is still very much underway.

Source: AP News – SpaceX launches another Starship rocket after back-to-back explosions, but it tumbles out of control

The post SpaceX Launches Starship Again but Rocket Loses Control and Breaks Apart appeared first on Journos News - Breaking News, World News, Top Stories, Todays Headlines and Flash Reports.

SpaceX launched its Starship rocket for a highly anticipated test flight on Thursday, but the spacecraft was destroyed just minutes after achieving a thrilling milestone — successfully catching its booster back at the launch pad.

Elon Musk’s company confirmed that the Starship spacecraft suffered what they described as a “rapid unscheduled disassembly” during its ascent. The spacecraft’s six engines appeared to shut down sequentially, and communication was lost just 8.5 minutes into the flight.

The new, upgraded Starship model was meant to complete a test flight across the Gulf of Mexico from Texas, simulating a near-orbit flight similar to previous tests. SpaceX had loaded the spacecraft with 10 dummy satellites to practice deploying them. However, the spacecraft did not make it as far as expected, and was destroyed before reaching its intended destination.

Just a minute before the loss of communication, SpaceX successfully used its giant mechanical arms on the launch tower — nicknamed “chopsticks” — to catch the returning booster, a feat achieved only once before. The booster hovered over the launch pad before being gripped by the arms, marking a thrilling achievement for the company.

Despite the excitement of the booster catch, the failure of the spacecraft overshadowed the moment. SpaceX spokesman Dan Huot expressed both excitement and disappointment: “It was great to see a booster come down, but we are obviously bummed out about the ship,” he said. “It’s a flight test. It’s an experimental vehicle.” Huot added that the team would need time to analyze the data and determine the cause of the spacecraft’s failure.

The last data received from the spacecraft indicated an altitude of 90 miles (146 kilometers) and a velocity of 13,245 mph (21,317 kph) when communication was lost.

The 400-foot (123-meter) rocket had launched from Boca Chica Beach near the Mexican border during the late afternoon. The timing allowed for a potential daylight entry halfway around the world into the Indian Ocean, but unfortunately, the spacecraft never made it nearly that far.

For this latest test flight, SpaceX had made several improvements to the spacecraft and added mock satellite payloads, designed to be the same size as its Starlink internet satellites. These satellites, along with the spacecraft, were intended to be destroyed during re-entry.

Musk’s long-term goal is to launch real Starlink satellites into space using Starship, eventually progressing to other satellite launches and, later, human missions. This was the seventh test flight for the world’s largest and most powerful rocket. NASA has already reserved two Starships to land astronauts on the Moon later this decade, with Musk aiming to reach Mars in the future.

Earlier in the day, Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin launched its own supersized rocket, New Glenn, from Florida. This rocket successfully reached orbit on its first flight, placing an experimental satellite into space. However, like SpaceX, Blue Origin also faced disappointment as its first-stage booster missed its targeted landing on a floating platform in the Atlantic.

SpaceX will now focus on analyzing the data from this test and prepare for future flights, as they continue working toward making Starship a key vehicle for space exploration.

Source

The post SpaceX’s Latest Starship Flight Ends in Destruction, Despite Booster Success appeared first on Journos News - Breaking News, World News, Top Stories, Todays Headlines and Flash Reports.