Nearly two months following an explosion that showered flaming debris over the Turks and Caicos, SpaceX conducted another substantial Starship rocket launch on Thursday. However, contact was lost minutes into the test flight as the spacecraft spiraled down and disintegrated.
This time, remnants from the latest explosion were seen descending from the skies above Florida. It remains uncertain if the spacecraft’s self-destruct system activated to obliterate it. The 403-foot (123-meter) rocket lifted off from Texas. SpaceX successfully caught the first-stage booster back at the pad with massive mechanical arms, but the engines on the spacecraft’s upper section began shutting down as it traveled eastward for what was intended to be a controlled re-entry over the Indian Ocean, situated halfway across the globe. Contact was lost as the spacecraft spiraled out of control.
Altitude reached before disaster
Starship attained nearly 90 miles (150 kilometers) in altitude before encountering difficulties and before four mock satellites could be deployed. The exact location of its descent is still unclear, but images of flaming debris were captured in Florida, including areas near Cape Canaveral, and shared online. The space-skimming flight was expected to last one hour.
FAA issues ground stops
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) briefly instituted ground stops at the Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Palm Beach, and Orlando airports due to “space launch debris.” The agency announced it had initiated a mishap investigation into the incident. “Unfortunately this happened last time too, so we’ve got some practice now,” SpaceX spokesperson Dan Huot remarked during the live stream.
SpaceX’s statement on the incident
In a statement released late Thursday, SpaceX disclosed that Starship encountered an “energetic event” in its aft section, leading to the loss of several engines. “This in turn led to a loss of attitude control and ultimately a loss of communications with Starship,” the statement elaborated. “Final contact with Starship came approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds after liftoff.”
Read more: What went wrong with SpaceX’s Starship Test Flight 7?
No toxic materials in debris
SpaceX confirmed that there were no toxic materials among the debris. The previous Starship failure in January resulted in an explosion eight minutes into flight, scattering debris over Caribbean islands and causing minor damage to a vehicle in the Turks and Caicos Islands. The FAA, which oversees private rocket launches, stated that its investigation would require SpaceX to analyze the cause of the failure and obtain the agency’s approval before the Starship can launch again.
Last month, the FAA granted SpaceX’s launch license for Thursday’s test flight while its investigation into the company’s earlier Starship failure remained ongoing. In doing so, the FAA indicated it had evaluated SpaceX’s license application and initial details from the company’s mishap investigation before concluding that Starship’s eighth flight could proceed. Starship aimed to complete nearly a full orbit around Earth and re-enter over the Indian Ocean for a splashdown, simulating a landing sequence that SpaceX intends to execute on land as a crucial next phase of the rocket’s development.
