SpaceX initiates another Starship rocket launch following back-to-back blast-offs, yet this one veers out of control.
SpaceX's Starship embarked on its ninth demonstration flight on Tuesday evening from the southern tip of Texas, but the mission ended in failure when the spacecraft tumbled out of control and disintegrated. The 403-foot rocket, launched from SpaceX's Starbase, which recently gained city status due to resident votes, was initially aimed at releasing Starlink satellite simulators following liftoff.
However, the payload bay door failed to open completely, and the spacecraft began spinning as it skimmed space towards an uncontrolled landing in the Indian Ocean. Consequently, SpaceX was unable to deploy the satellite simulators, and the craft spin continued during its journey.
The company later confirmed that the spacecraft experienced "a rapid unscheduled disassembly," or broke apart. Commenting on the incident, SpaceX indicated that teams would continue to analyze data in preparation for their next flight.
Despite the setback, Elon Musk, SpaceX's CEO, expressed optimism, stating that it represented a significant improvement over the two previous demonstrations, which ended in flaming debris over the Atlantic. Musk also said that the Starship launch pace would accelerate, with one taking off every three to four weeks for the next three flights.
This marked the first time one of Musk's Starships, designed for travel to the moon and Mars, flew with a recycled booster. Although plans existed to recover the booster, SpaceX opted to push it to its limits instead. However, contact with the booster was lost at one point, and it crashed into the Gulf of Mexico in pieces as the spacecraft continued toward the Indian Ocean.
The issues leading to the spacecraft's tumble and eventual break apart are believed to have originated from a propellant leak, which caused the craft to lose control and attitude, making it difficult for mission control to manage the situation. Additionally, the payload bay door failed to open, and the planned booster recovery was unsuccessful.
NASA needs SpaceX to make significant strides over the next year with the Starship, the biggest and most powerful rocket ever built, to land astronauts back on the moon. Next year's planned moonshot will involve astronauts circumnavigating the moon but will not land. Landing missions are expected to happen no earlier than 2027, requiring a Starship to get two astronauts from lunar orbit to the surface and back off again.
- Despite the recent failure of the Starship demonstration flight in Seattle, SpaceX's CEO, Elon Musk, remains optimistic about the future, anticipating one launch every three to four weeks for the next three flights.
- NASA is relying on SpaceX to make significant advancements with the Starship, particularly in areas such as payload delivery and recovery, to prepare for landing astronauts back on the moon by 2027.
- The weather conditions in Seattle, where SpaceX's Starbase is located, likely had little impact on the latest Starship demonstration flight, as the focus of the mission was primarily on the spacecraft's performance and the functionality of its systems, such as the propulsion and control systems.
