Elon Musk’s ambitious mission to colonize Mars suffered a fresh blow on Tuesday when SpaceX’s latest Starship mega-rocket test flight ended in failure. Launched from the company’s Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas, the spacecraft lost control mid-air and exploded over the Indian Ocean.
The launch, which began at 6:36 p.m. local time, marked the ninth test flight of the Starship program — and once again highlighted the challenges SpaceX faces in developing the world’s most powerful rocket.
Fuel Leak Causes Loss of Control
Shortly after reaching space, Starship encountered a critical issue. The spacecraft failed to open its payload bay doors, which prevented the release of dummy Starlink satellites onboard. Just 30 minutes into the flight, engineers confirmed a fuel tank leak, which caused the upper stage to spin out of control. Before re-entering Earth’s atmosphere, the vehicle disintegrated.
The Super Heavy booster, the rocket’s lower stage with 33 engines, exploded just before its expected splashdown. Live footage showed fire erupting around the rocket as it spiraled into chaos.
Not the First Starship Failure
This isn’t the first time Starship has suffered a high-profile setback. Two previous test flights also ended in explosions, scattering debris over the Caribbean Sea and disrupting commercial air traffic.
Despite early hopes for a successful mission, the flight quickly turned into a technical catastrophe.
SpaceX Responds
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), SpaceX acknowledged the failure, saying:
“As if flight testing wasn’t exciting enough, Starship experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly. Teams will continue reviewing data and work toward our next test flight. With tests like these, success comes from what we learn.”
SpaceX maintains that these trial-and-error flights are essential in building a reliable spacecraft capable of supporting life on other planets — a vision that Elon Musk has long championed.
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