SpaceX reports that a fire may have caused its Starship to break apart during liftoff, sending trails of flaming debris near the Caribbean. Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, stated that preliminary indications suggest leaking fuel built up pressure in the cavity above the engine firewall, which ultimately doomed the spacecraft.
On Friday, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) mandated SpaceX to investigate the cause of the incident. Fortunately, the FAA confirmed there were no reports of injuries from the debris of the Starship.
The 400-foot Starship, recognized as the world’s largest and most powerful rocket, launched from the southern tip of Texas during a test flight on Thursday evening. The booster successfully returned to the pad to be caught by giant mechanical arms, marking only the second time in the history of Starship that this has occurred. However, the engines on the still-ascending spacecraft shut down one by one, leading to a loss of communication 8.5 minutes into the flight.
Dramatic footage taken near the Turks and Caicos Islands captured the sight of spacecraft debris cascading down from the sky in a stream of fireballs. In response, the FAA reported that flights in the vicinity were diverted due to the falling debris.
SpaceX assured that Starship remained within its designated launch corridor over the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic, with any surviving wreckage expected to have fallen along that path over water, as stated on the company’s website.
Starship aimed for a controlled entry over the Indian Ocean, halfway around the globe. The spacecraft was carrying ten dummy satellites, which were meant to simulate SpaceX’s Starlink internet satellites, allowing the company to practice their release.
This marked the seventh test flight of a Starship, featuring a new and upgraded spacecraft. The FAA noted that it must approve SpaceX’s findings regarding the accident and any corrective actions that may be necessary.
SpaceX indicated that the booster and spacecraft for the eighth demonstration flight are already constructed and undergoing testing. Musk remarked on X that the loss was “barely a bump in the road” for his vision of creating a fleet of Starships to transport people to Mars.
NASA has already booked two Starships to land astronauts on the moon later this decade as part of its Artemis program, which is the successor to Apollo.
“Spaceflight is not easy. It’s anything but routine,” stated NASA Administrator Bill Nelson on X following the incident. “That’s why these tests are so important.” Earlier on Thursday, Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin company also experienced mixed results with the inaugural flight of its massive New Glenn rocket, which achieved orbit on its first attempt, successfully placing a test satellite thousands of miles above Earth. However, the booster was destroyed after failing to land on a floating platform in the Atlantic.
