After SpaceX’s Starship megarocket exploded during a test flight in January, the company had hoped for a better outcome when it tried to launch the booster again Thursday.
But once more, the mission was cut short after controllers lost contact with the upper-stage vehicle.
The 400-foot-tall Starship system rocketed off the launch pad at SpaceX’s Starbase site near Brownsville, Texas, at 6:30 p.m. ET for its eighth test flight.
But a little over 8 minutes into the flight — roughly the same timing as the mishap in January — several engines appeared to cut off as the upper-stage Starship vehicle was still accelerating into space. Live video showed the craft spinning before all communication was lost.
“I think it’s pretty obvious we’re not going to continue the rest of the mission today,” SpaceX communications manager Dan Huot said on the company’s live webcast.
It’s not yet clear whether if the upper stage broke apart or where it re-entered Earth’s atmosphere. Huot said during the webcast that SpaceX has measures to track possible debris and that it works “closely with air traffic control.”
It’s not altogether uncommon for accidents to occur in the development of new rockets and spaceships, but Thursday’s setback is the second in a row for Starship.
During the system’s seventh test mission on Jan. 16, SpaceX similarly lost communication with the vehicle’s upper stage about 8 minutes in. It subsequently blew up over the Caribbean, sending dust and small pieces of debris falling over parts of Turks and Caicos. Local authorities said there were no injuries or major damage to property, however.
After that accident, the Federal Aviation Administration launched an investigation. Although it subsequently cleared Starship for Thursday’s test flight, the investigation is ongoing.
The FAA is one of many federal agencies the Trump administration has targeted for budget and personnel cuts. It’s unclear, though, whether workers with the Department of Government Efficiency, led by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, have had a presence within the FAA’s commercial spaceflight division, which oversees private companies like SpaceX.
SpaceX said its internal investigation of the explosion found that the likeliest cause was leaking propellant that sparked “sustained fires” in a section of Starship known as the “attic,” between the bottom of the liquid oxygen tank and the rear heat shield.
The company said it had made several upgrades to the upper stage before Thursday’s launch to prevent similar fires, including adding more ventilation in the unpressurized attic.
Although the test flight was short-lived, it did hit one major milestone. The Super Heavy booster successfully returned to its launch site and settled onto the tower’s robotic arms. It was the third time SpaceX has demonstrated the impressive “catch” maneuver, which is a key part of its goal to make Starship a fully reusable system.
Starship, the most powerful rocket ever developed, consists of two parts: a first-stage booster known as Super Heavy and an upper-stage spacecraft.
Thursday’s Starship test flight, like the others before it, was uncrewed. SpaceX officials have said they will most likely complete hundreds of test missions before the megarocket carries any people.
The next-generation Starship megarocket is expected to play a crucial part in NASA’s efforts to return to the moon. NASA selected SpaceX to carry astronauts to the lunar surface during its planned Artemis III mission, which is scheduled to launch in 2027. Musk has also said Starship could be used for future missions to Mars.
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