SpaceX conducted its latest test flight of the Starship rocket, which ended with the vehicle’s destruction shortly after launch. The company reported that the craft’s six engines failed sequentially, resulting in contact loss just 8.5 minutes into the mission. Intended to complete a near-circular orbit over the Gulf of Mexico, the flight carried ten dummy satellites and marked the first outing for the upgraded spacecraft.
A highlight of the event was the successful capture of the booster by the launch tower’s mechanical arms, affectionately known as “chopsticks,” right before the subsequent disappointment when the spacecraft malfunctioned. SpaceX spokesman Dan Huot expressed disappointment but noted the positive aspect of the booster’s recovery. The last data from the craft indicated an impressive altitude of 146 kilometres and a speed of over 21,000 km/h.
SpaceX had enhanced the catch tower following previous launch mishaps. This was the seventh test for what is touted as the largest and most powerful rocket globally, with plans for future missions potentially involving crewed flights to the Moon and Mars. Coincidentally, hours earlier, Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin also launched a new rocket, New Glenn, which successfully reached orbit despite its booster being destroyed during landing attempts.