SpaceX's ambitious eighth test mission of its Starship rocket faced a significant setback on Thursday when the upper stage of the rocket began spinning out of control in space. The event marked the company's second consecutive Starship failure this year. The test, which was a satellite deployment demonstration, ended abruptly when contact with the Starship was lost during its flight.
The incident unfolded during a live stream broadcast by SpaceX, capturing the moment when the Starship upper stage lost stability. Dan Huot, a SpaceX spokesman, addressed the situation during the broadcast.
"Unfortunately this happened last time too so we've got some practice now" – Dan Huot
The Starship rocket system, an impressive 403 feet (1223 meters) tall, lifted off from SpaceX's facilities in Boca Chica, Texas, at approximately 6:30 p.m. ET (2300 GMT). Despite the upper stage mishap, the Super Heavy first stage booster executed a successful return to land as planned, showcasing SpaceX's continued advancements in reusable rocket technology.
This failure echoes a similar incident earlier this year in January when a previous Starship test mission ended in an explosion just eight minutes into its flight. The explosion scattered debris over the Caribbean islands, raising concerns over the reliability of the Starship's current design.
The recent incident underscores the challenges SpaceX faces as it continues to develop its next-generation rocket system intended for deep-space missions. Despite these setbacks, the company remains committed to refining its technology and addressing the issues that have led to these failures. With previous experiences in handling such anomalies, SpaceX is expected to analyze the data from this latest test to make necessary adjustments.