Back-to-back mishaps indicate big setbacks for program to launch satellites and send humans to the moon and Mars, SpaceX’s Starship explodes in second failure for Musk’s Mars program
Minutes after taking off from Texas, SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft exploded on Thursday, ending an attempt to launch dummy satellites. This is the second time this year that Elon Musk’s Mars rocket program has failed.
Following Starship’s breakdown in orbit, which happened soon after it started spinning uncontrolled with its engines switched off, a SpaceX livestream of the mission revealed a number of social media videos that showed blazing debris racing over the dark skies near south Florida and the Bahamas.
The company’s seventh Starship flight also ended in an explosive disaster just over a month prior to this one. The consecutive accidents happened during early mission phases that SpaceX has easily outperformed in the past, signifying significant setbacks for a program Musk has aimed to accelerate this year.
SpaceX’s Starship explodes in second failure for Musk’s Mars program
At before 6.30 p.m. ET (2300 GMT), the 403-foot (123-meter) rocket system took off from SpaceX’s expansive rocket facility in Boca Chica, Texas, with its Super Heavy first-stage booster making a scheduled landing.
However, a few minutes later, SpaceX’s webcast revealed the upper stage of the Starship spinning in orbit, and a rocket engine simulation revealed several engines shutting down before the company verified it had lost contact with the ship.
Speaking during the video, SpaceX spokesperson Dan Huot stated, “Unfortunately, this happened last time, too, so we’ve got some practice now.”
There were no astronauts aboard the rocket. Shortly after the launch, SpaceX halted the webcast and provided no warning of the debris fall location.
“The vehicle experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly and contact was lost,” SpaceX wrote on its website. “Success comes from what we learn, and today’s flight will offer additional lessons to improve Starship’s reliability,” the company said, adding that its team was working with safety experts and would analyze flight data to determine the explosion’s primary cause.
The Federal Aviation Administration temporarily halted commercial flights at the Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Palm Beach, and Orlando airports due to “space launch debris” until at least 8 p.m. ET, as debris strewn across areas of the Caribbean. Additionally, flights were rerouted around Turks & Caicos.
The FAA said it had opened a mishap investigation into the incident, and would require SpaceX to examine the failure’s cause and get the agency’s sign-off before Starship can fly again.
Meanwhile, the FAA is requiring SpaceX to perform a mishap investigation into the loss of the Starship vehicle, according to a statement released by the agency.
“A mishap investigation is designed to enhance public safety, determine the root cause of the event, and identify corrective actions to avoid it from happening again,” according to the statement. “The FAA will be involved in every step of the SpaceX-led mishap investigation process and must approve SpaceX’s final report, including any corrective actions. A return to flight is based on the FAA determining that any system, process, or procedure related to the mishap does not affect public safety.”
Thursday’s launch was SpaceX’s second go at getting Flight 8 off the ground. The company waved off a Monday attempt due to “too many question marks,” according to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.
The failure of Starship’s first attempt to launch since exploding in space on 16 January puts a dent in Musk’s development vision. He aims to build a rocket capable of sending bigger batches of satellites to space as well as humans to the moon and Mars.
The Starship failure in January ended eight minutes into flight when the rocket exploded in space, raining debris over Caribbean islands. The explosion was caused by a fire that ignited near the ship’s liquid oxygen tank. At the time, the FAA temporarily grounded commercial flights and ordered SpaceX to carry out an investigation. SpaceX said it had since made changes to the fuel lines and fuel temperature.
