Due to debris, the FAA issued temporary ground stops for flights departing airports in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, and Palm Beach.
The eighth test flight of a SpaceX Starship lifted off from Starbase, Texas, on March 6, and ended in partial success, with the spacecraft broken down before reaching its targeted orbit and its booster returning to the launch tower with precision.
Elon Musk’s behemoth dream of reusable space travel features two parts: a super-heavy booster and a six-engine Starship spacecraft, which, in this test, was bound for orbit loaded with prototype next-generation Starlink satellites.
The initial launch up and over the Gulf of America was a success, with all 33 raptor engines lighting and its trajectory remaining steady as it passed the point of maximum dynamic pressure placed on the vehicle.
SpaceX spokespeople covering the live event confirmed what appeared to be a good separation of the Starship from the booster, and that booster successfully returned to Starbase.
The eighth test flight of Starship recorded the third successful catching of the superheavy booster section by the “Mechazilla” arms back at the launch tower.
However, with less than 30 seconds left in its burn and less than 60 km from its targeted altitude, Starship’s engines began to cut off one by one, falling into an uncontrollable spin. Mission control soon lost contact with the spacecraft.
Shortly after, Musk’s social media platform, X, filled with videos of people reporting seeing the Starship break up upon reentry, with comet-like debris spotted from the Gulf Coast of Southwest Florida to the Eastern Caribbean.
In response to the debris, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued temporary ground stops for flights departing airports in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, and Palm Beach, resulting in an average delay of 45 minutes.
The FAA said SpaceX must perform a mishap investigation into the loss of the Starship.
SpaceX confirmed the lost ship on X: “During Starship’s ascent burn, the vehicle experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly, and contact was lost. Our team immediately began coordination with safety officials to implement pre-planned contingency responses.
“We will review the data from today’s flight test to better understand [the] root cause. As always, success comes from what we learn, and today’s flight will offer additional lessons to improve Starship’s reliability.”
By T.J. Muscaro
