SpaceX's Starship suffered a rapid unscheduled disassembly shortly after liftoff during its latest test flight, despite a successful booster catch. The new and upgraded spacecraft lost contact just 8.5 minutes into the ascent, with its six engines appearing to shut down sequentially. Although SpaceX managed to catch the returning booster using the launch tower's giant mechanical arms, the spacecraft itself broke apart over the Atlantic Ocean.
SpaceX launched its Starship rocket on its latest test flight , but the spacecraft was destroyed following a thrilling booster catch back at the launch pad. Elon Musk 's company said on Thursday Starship broke apart — what it called a\u2019rapid unscheduled disassembly.\u2019 The spacecraft\u2019s six engines appeared to shut down one by one during ascent, with contact lost just 8 1/2 minutes into the flight.
The spacecraft — a new and upgraded model making its debut — was supposed to soar across the Gulf of Mexico from Texas on a near loop around the world similar to previous test flights. SpaceX had packed it with 10 dummy satellites for practice at releasing them. A minute before the loss, SpaceX used the launch tower\u2019s giant mechanical arms to catch the returning booster, a feat achieved only once before. The descending booster hovered over the launch pad before being gripped by the pair of arms dubbed chopsticks. The thrill of the catch quickly turned into disappointment for not only the company, but the crowds gathered along the southern tip of Texas. \u2018It was great to see a booster come down, but we are obviously bummed out about ship,\u2019 said SpaceX spokesman Dan Huot, adding it would take time to analyze the data and figure out what happened.\u2018It\u2019s a flight test. It\u2019s an experimental vehicle.\u2019 The last data received from the spacecraft indicated an altitude of 146 kilometers and a velocity of 21,317 kph. The 123-meter rocket had thundered away in late afternoon from Boca Chica Beach near the Mexican border. The late hour ensured a daylight entry halfway around the world in the Indian Ocean. But the shiny retro-looking spacecraft never got nearly that far. SpaceX had made improvements to the spacecraft for the latest demo and added a fleet of satellite mockups. The test satellites were the same size as SpaceX\u2019s Starlink internet satellites and, like the spacecraft, were meant to be destroyed upon entry. Musk plans to launch actual Starlinks on Starships before moving on to other satellites and, eventually, crews. It was the seventh test flight for the world\u2019s biggest and most powerful rocket. NASA has reserved a pair of Starships to land astronauts on the moon later this decade. Musk\u2019s goal is Mars. Hours earlier in Florida, another billionaire\u2019s rocket company — Jeff Bezos\u2019 Blue Origin — launched the newest supersized rocket, New Glenn. The rocket reached orbit on its first flight, successfully placing an experimental satellite thousands of miles above Earth. But the first-stage booster was destroyed, missing its targeted landing on a floating platform in the Atlantic
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