SpaceX loses spacecraft after catching rocket booster at the launch pad
in latest Starship test
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 [January 17, 2025]
By MARCIA DUNN
SpaceX launched its Starship rocket on its latest test flight Thursday,
but the spacecraft was destroyed following a thrilling booster catch
back at the pad.
Elon Musk’s company said Starship broke apart — what it called a “rapid
unscheduled disassembly." The spacecraft's 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's 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.
“It was great to see a booster come down, but we are obviously bummed
out about ship,” said SpaceX spokesman Dan Huot. “It’s a flight test.
It’s an experimental vehicle," he stressed.
The last data received from the spacecraft indicated an altitude of 90
miles (146 kilometers) and a velocity of 13,245 mph (21,317 kph).
Musk said a preliminary analysis suggests leaking fuel may have built up
pressure in a cavity above the engine firewall. Fire suppression will be
added to the area, with increased venting and double-checking for leaks,
he said via X.
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SpaceX's mega rocket Starship and booster separate during a test
flight from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025.
(AP Photo/Eric Gay)
The 400-foot (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’s 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’s biggest and most
powerful rocket. NASA has reserved a pair of Starships to land
astronauts on the moon later this decade. Musk’s goal is Mars.
Hours earlier in Florida, another billionaire’s rocket company —
Jeff Bezos’ 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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