 "Musk's SpaceX launches 'super heavy' Starship Flight 9 on 9th test flight. Reuters")
Elon Musk-led SpaceX faced another major setback after losing contact with its Starship rocket on Tuesday, following fuel leakage and the rocket spinning out of control. Officials said the rocket re-entered the atmosphere and likely broke apart over the Indian Ocean.
“Just to confirm, we did lose contact with the ship officially a couple of minutes ago. So that brings an end to the ninth flight test,” said SpaceX’s Dan Huot during a live broadcast.
The mission, which launched from Starbase in Texas, aimed to test Starship’s ability to orbit and re-enter, with plans for the upper stage to make a controlled splashdown halfway around the world.
The launch, which took place at 5:00 am IST, was a significant step towards SpaceX’s goal of building a reusable rocket system capable of carrying people to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
The mission, called Starship Flight 9, used the Super Heavy booster for the second time, along with Ship 35. The booster first flew earlier this year during Flight 7.
The Starship upper stage was carrying eight simulated Starlink satellites, intended to test how well the rocket can launch satellites and prepare for future space missions.
SpaceX launched its Starship system using a Super Heavy booster that had flown before, aiming to show the rocket’s reusability. As planned, the 71-metre booster separated from the Starship upper stage a few minutes after liftoff and began its return to Earth.
However, SpaceX lost contact with the booster during its descent, and it likely fell into the sea instead of making a controlled splashdown.
Meanwhile, the upper-stage Starship kept climbing and reached its planned suborbital path about nine minutes after launch. But one issue occurred—its payload doors didn’t open, so the test satellites couldn’t be released.