Nearly two months after a fiery test failure scattered debris over the Turks and Caicos, SpaceX launched another Starship rocket on Thursday—only to lose contact minutes into the flight, resulting in another catastrophic breakup.
This time, wreckage from the massive spacecraft was seen falling over Florida. It remains unclear whether the vehicle’s self-destruct system activated. The 403-foot (123-meter) rocket lifted off from Texas, successfully recovering its first-stage booster at the launch pad using giant mechanical arms. However, the upper-stage spacecraft encountered engine failures as it soared eastward toward its planned controlled descent over the Indian Ocean.
Less than 10 minutes into the test flight, contact was lost as the spacecraft spun out of control. Before the failure, Starship had reached an altitude of nearly 90 miles (150 kilometers) but was unable to deploy its four mock satellites.
Flaming debris was spotted in Florida, including near Cape Canaveral, with footage circulating online. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has launched an investigation into the incident.
“Unfortunately, this happened last time too, so we have some practice at this now,” SpaceX flight commentator Dan Huot remarked from the launch site. SpaceX later confirmed the spacecraft experienced a “rapid unscheduled disassembly” during the engine firing phase and promptly notified safety officials.
Flights at Orlando International Airport were briefly grounded due to falling launch debris.
Despite setbacks, SpaceX continues to develop Starship, the world’s most powerful rocket. NASA has selected the vehicle for future moon landings, while CEO Elon Musk envisions using it for missions to Mars.
The test flight aimed to deploy mock satellites mimicking SpaceX’s Starlink units before allowing them to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere. Starship’s flaps, computers, and fuel systems had been redesigned ahead of this flight, with future plans focusing on achieving a controlled return to the launch site.
