Starship exploded again on the third test flight in a row, booster also lost

During the ninth test flight of the giant Starship rocket, both the booster and the upper stage exploded, and not all the planned tests could be carried out. This can be seen in the videos from SpaceX, the aerospace company responsible, and in a subsequent announcement. According to the videos, the booster successfully separated from the spacecraft and headed back to Earth, but contact was lost before it fell into the sea. Later, the upper stage failed to open the doors to release models of Starlink satellites, and 46 minutes after launch, this main part of the giant rocket was also lost. The remains are said to have crashed into the Indian Ocean.

This is the third time in a row that Elon Musk's space company has failed to complete the most important objectives of a Starship test flight, even if some things worked again. For example, the launch for the booster used was already the second, and the lower rocket stage was already used on the seventh test flight in January. In addition, the rocket was on a more favorable trajectory before it exploded, SpaceX writes. A booster could save a significant amount of fuel on the return flight to Earth. It had also performed a special rotation for the first time beforehand.

The upper stage, in turn, successfully activated its engines for the full planned time, meaning that improvements following the two previous failures were effective. During the subsequent suborbital flight, however, not only did the first launch of a payload fail, but an error in the attitude control system meant that the spacecraft was not brought into the correct position for the return to Earth. An automatic process was therefore activated to release as much pressure as possible before the upper stage finally exploded. All the debris should have fallen into the secured area in the ocean, according to the space company.

Despite the failures, Elon Musk has already described the test as a success. A “lot of good data” was collected, he wrote on X. He also owns the short message service. SpaceX added that analysis of the flight had already begun and that the data collected was being evaluated. Improvements are to be implemented quickly before the following flights are scheduled. Musk explained that these should now take place much more quickly, at intervals of around three to four weeks. In contrast, almost three months had passed since the previous test.

A rocket for manned flights to Mars

The Starship consists of the “Super Heavy” booster, which is around 70 meters long, and an upper stage that is around 50 meters long. The largest rocket in the world is designed in such a way that the spacecraft and rocket can be reused after returning to Earth. The rocket is intended to take astronauts to the moon for NASA. SpaceX is also promising flights to Mars. In April 2023, a complete Starship took off for the first time, but only remained intact for a few minutes. Six months later, the second launch attempt was successful before the rocket exploded again. Four more followed in 2024, three of which were successful. The Starship exploded on all three launches that year.

(mho)