SpaceX encountered an unexpected setback during the seventh test flight of its Starship rocket on January 16, as the vehicle was lost 15 minutes into the mission. This comes after the company had made significant progress during its test flight campaign for the vehicle.
The launch took place at SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Texas at 4:37 PM local time. The Starship, the largest and most powerful rocket ever built, was intended to reach near orbital speeds and deploy 10 dummy spacecraft designed to mimic the upgraded SpaceX Starlink satellites. This mission was set to be a crucial milestone, marking the first time Starship attempted to deploy cargo in space.
Despite the loss of communication with the Starship upper portion, SpaceX successfully demonstrated its ability to catch the rocket’s Super Heavy lower portion in midair using giant mechanical arms, a feat accomplished six minutes into the flight. This engineering manoeuvre was previously completed during the rocket’s fifth test flight in October.
Recovering the Starship Super Heavy booster is critical to the developmental progress of the vehicle, which SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has long touted as fully reusable. The successful catch of the booster at the Starbase facility near Boca Chica Beach in Texas on October 13 highlights the importance of this capability.
During the rocket’s sixth test flight on November 19, attended by President-elect Donald Trump, SpaceX opted to skip the booster catch due to technical issues. If conditions for the catch are not met, the booster is designed to land in the Gulf of Mexico.
The launch occurred just hours after Blue Origin LLC’s new flagship rocket successfully reached orbit in its inaugural flight. The Jeff Bezos-backed firm aims to challenge SpaceX’s dominance in the launch market.
Elon Musk was quick to congratulate his fellow billionaire on this milestone. SpaceX’s iterative approach to engineering, characterized by its “fly-fail-fix” methodology, has seen previous Starship launches end in explosions and other damages.
For this launch, SpaceX upgraded the rocket’s heat shield to withstand the extreme heat and forces during atmospheric reentry. Additional upgrades included a redesigned propulsion system, a more powerful flight computer, and additional cameras for flight monitoring.