SpaceX Starship tumbles out of control and breaks apart in latest test setback
SpaceX confirmed spacecraft experienced ‘a rapid unscheduled disassembly’ in ninth test launch
After back-to-back explosions, SpaceX launched its mega rocket Starship again on Tuesday evening, but fell short of the main objectives when the spacecraft tumbled out of control and broke apart.
The 123-metre (403-foot) rocket blasted off on its ninth demo from Starbase, SpaceX’s launch site at the southern tip of Texas.
CEO Elon Musk’s SpaceX hoped to release a series of mock satellites following lift-off, but that got nixed because the door failed to open all the way. Then the spacecraft began spinning as it skimmed space toward an uncontrolled landing in the Indian Ocean.
SpaceX later confirmed that the spacecraft experienced “a rapid unscheduled disassembly”, or burst apart. “Teams will continue to review data and work toward our next flight test,” the company said in an online statement.
Musk, who had planned a post-flight speech on his space exploration ambitions but did not show, noted in a post on X the test was a “big improvement” from the two previous demos, which ended in flaming debris over the Atlantic.
Despite the latest setback, Musk promised a faster launch pace moving forward, with a Starship soaring every three to four weeks for the next three flights.