SpaceX lost another Starship after the seventh test of the spacecraft was ended by a “rapid, unscheduled disassembly”. However, the company is still celebrating the mission because it ended with its second successful capture of its Super Heavy booster.
According to the private space company’s plan for this mission, Super Heavy would send Starship on a one-hour and six-minute journey from its Texas launchpad that would end in a splashdown into the Indian Ocean. Starship was to launch 10 dummy satellites, which were designed to mimic the size and weight Starlink broadband birds of the next generation.
This Starship was redesigned with many new elements, such as a smaller forward flap, a 2 percent increase in propellant, new avionics and heat shield tiles, which include a backup. In addition, 30 cameras were installed to help engineers better understand the vehicle.
This mission was a mixed one because Starship’s rapid, unscheduled disassembly took place around eight and half minutes into the flight.
Everything had been going well before that. A SpaceX post claims that all 33 engines of the Super Heavy booster performed as planned as well as separation from Starship.
The six engines of Starship then kicked in to begin the ascent burn.
But it didn’t go as planned.
According to SpaceX, “Initial data indicate a fire developed in aft sections of the ship leading to a quick unscheduled disassembly and debris falling into the Atlantic Ocean inside the predefined hazards areas,” stated the post. SpaceX launches two lunar landers to reach the Moon
According to SpaceX, “the first Starship test of 2025 flew ambitious goals. We wanted to repeat our past success of launching and landing the world’s strongest launch vehicle and put a redesigned Starship through a series of rigorous flight demonstrations.”
The company said that “data review is already underway to find the root cause” before promising to “implement corrections to make improvements for future Starship flight test.” Starship is the largest spacecraft launched to date, while Super Heavy is the largest booster ever built by humanity. Both are designed to also be fully reusable. This flight was the first to use a used motor in the booster.
Although the Starship ended its flight in pieces, the mission was not a failure. (r)
