SpaceX successfully caught the Super Heavy booster of its Starship rocket for the second time following the launch of the upper stage into space on Thursday, marking the seventh test flight of the system. However, shortly after this achievement, SpaceX officials reported that they lost contact with the spacecraft about eight and a half minutes into its flight.
After a successful separation from the booster, the ship activated its engines to ascend toward orbit, but it appeared that some engines failed shortly thereafter. SpaceX then lost telemetry signals from the spacecraft, and a few minutes later confirmed that an “anomaly with that upper stage” occurred during the final stage of its ascent burn in space.
The Federal Aviation Administration notified TechCrunch that it had to slow down or reroute several flights in the vicinity of where debris from the spacecraft was detected.
In the evening, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk shared on X that the company suspects an “oxygen/fuel leak” inside Starship caused excessive pressure buildup in the vessel. He noted that SpaceX will “obviously [be] double-checking for leaks” moving forward, plan to incorporate a fire suppression system into that section of the spacecraft, and increase the venting area to mitigate any pressure issues.
Following the incident, social media users posted images and videos showing what appeared to be fragments of the spacecraft disintegrating as they re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere above Turks and Caicos. Between posts critical of corporate diversity programs, Musk tweeted one of the videos on X, stating: “Success is uncertain, but entertainment is guaranteed!”
SpaceX marked its first successful booster “catch” in October 2024, where articulated arms on the launch tower captured the rocket stage mid-air as it slowed its descent using its engines. A second attempt to capture the booster in November was aborted due to communication issues.
However, this launch aimed to accomplish much more than just capturing the booster. SpaceX had equipped Starship with 10 dummy Starlink satellites and intended to carry out the first payload deployment with the spacecraft. The test was projected to kick off a “transformational” year for Starship, according to SpaceX’s website.
The Starship used on Thursday featured several upgrades over previous test flights. SpaceX claimed that the avionics systems had undergone a “complete redesign,” boasting a more powerful flight computer and integrated antennas designed for Starlink, GNSS, and backup RF communication functionalities.
This version of Starship was also equipped with redesigned inertial navigation and star tracking sensors, along with “smart batteries and power units” that effectively distributed data and 2.7MW of power throughout the spacecraft. Furthermore, the updated Starship included over 30 cameras enabling engineers to monitor the performance of both new and existing hardware.
SpaceX aims to capture both Starship and the booster simultaneously, and this flight was intended as an opportunity to test the necessary technologies to achieve this. The company utilized various heat tiles on the spacecraft to assess which materials best protect against the intense forces experienced during re-entry. Additionally, the ship carried “non-structural versions” of the knobs designed to interface with the tower, to evaluate their durability through the re-entry process.
On the booster side, SpaceX upgraded the launch tower with radar sensors for more accurate tracking of the rocket stage during the catch operation. Notably, the booster was reusing one of its engines from a previous Starship flight for the first time.
This article has been updated with additional information from SpaceX, Elon Musk, and commentary from the FAA.
Compiled by Techarena.au.
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