Musk's Starship ship crashes for second time in row
The spacecraft's flight lasted about 8 minutes (photo: Getty Images)
SpaceX's Starship spacecraft went out of control and disintegrated during its eighth test flight. This marks another setback for billionaire Elon Musk's company, less than two months after its previous mission ended in an explosion, according to Bloomberg.
According to the publication, a few minutes after the launch on Thursday from southern Texas, two parts of the rocket separated as planned. The super-heavy booster then returned to Earth, where it was caught in the air by the so-called giant mechanical arms of the launch tower.
However, about 8 minutes into the flight, the Starship spacecraft began to tumble on its way to space, and eventually, the flight control center lost contact with the object.
While Starship ignited all six Raptor engines as planned, some engines began to fail before they were supposed to shut down, said one of the SpaceX broadcast hosts. At this point, Starship began to go out of control.
Later, the company issued a statement on social media platform X, stating that the Starship spacecraft had disintegrated and that the company was working with safety officials.
Subsequently, the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Air Traffic Control Command Center issued an automatic alert, notifying operators about falling debris. The agency also imposed a ground stop at some Florida airports due to space debris, which was later lifted.
The FAA stated in an email that it briefly slowed down air traffic outside the debris fall zone. The agency will require SpaceX to conduct an investigation into the incident, as is standard practice in the case of an explosion.
Witnesses posted videos on X of falling debris near the Bahamas and the Dominican Republic.
This flight became the second consecutive Starship launch to be interrupted around the eighth minute. The company had planned to test several updates, including Starship's ability to deploy satellites into space — something that was also intended for the previous flight, but the mission was prematurely cut short.
Additionally, during this flight, SpaceX planned to test several other updates, including stronger flaps that the rocket uses for atmospheric control, as well as improved navigation systems and propulsion units.
