Elon Musk’s SpaceX launched its massive Starship rocket on Tuesday for its third test flight, following two previous failed attempts. Despite high hopes, the latest flight also ended in failure just minutes after liftoff. The 403-foot rocket took off from SpaceX’s Starbase launch facility in Texas, marking its ninth demonstration flight. Many Texans gathered to witness the launch, which quickly turned into disappointment when the rocket lost control and partially exploded shortly after takeoff.
SpaceX had intended to deploy a set of mock satellites during the mission, but a malfunctioning payload door prevented it from opening fully. As the rocket continued its ascent, it began to spin uncontrollably and ultimately ended its flight with a crash landing in the Indian Ocean.
SpaceX later confirmed that the spacecraft experienced “a rapid unscheduled disassembly”, or burst apart.
“Teams will continue to review data and work toward our next flight test,” the company said in an online statement.
Also Read: BSE Smallcap Stock Jumps Almost 6% After Q4 Net Profit Rises by 59%
What SpaceX Reported After Launch
The launch system for Tuesday’s test flight included the upper portion of the Starship and its Super Heavy Booster. After the test flight failure, SpaceX stated, “We successfully reflow a Super Heavy booster for the first time! We designed today’s test objectives to intentionally push Super Heavy to its limits, allowing us to gather real-world performance data that will directly contribute to developing an even more capable next-generation booster.”
SpaceX added, “As if the flight test wasn’t exciting enough, Starship underwent a rapid unscheduled disassembly. Our teams will continue reviewing the data and preparing for the next flight test. With a test like this, we measure success by what we learn, and today’s test will help us enhance Starship’s reliability as we work toward making life multiplanetary.”
SpaceX commentator Dan Huot explained that the team lost attitude control of the rocket during the flight. He attributed the issue to some leaks on the ship, saying, “We’ve been dealing with some leaks on the ship…That’s what led to the loss of attitude control.”
