Starship Explodes Again in Space

The eighth test flight of the Starship system ended in midair explosion after the booster rocket successfully landed on the launch tower in South Texas—closely resembling the outcome of the seventh test flight in January. Following two launch delays earlier this week due to issues with the rocket and launch facility, Starship lifted off without problems at the very beginning of its launch window. All 33 Raptor engines of the booster operated as planned, and the spacecraft separated flawlessly from the rocket. Just over seven minutes after liftoff, the booster executed a perfect landing on the launch tower—marking the third successful recovery of this kind achieved by SpaceX in the last four flights.

The spacecraft itself (the upper stage), continued its ascent into space powered by its six Raptor engines. It reached an altitude of approximately 140 kilometers, but shortly before its scheduled engine shutdown, several engines unexpectedly failed.  The spacecraft began to spin uncontrollably, and in the first few seconds of this state, it was still transmitting images clearly showing the spinning vehicle.However, communication was soon lost as the vehicle exploded midair, with debris seen burning up in the atmosphere over South Florida and the Bahamas. No injuries or damage have been reported so far, and it appears that the debris fell into the ocean. The explosion occurred slightly earlier than in the seventh test, when debris primarily landed near the Turks and Caicos Islands, with some fragments later washing ashore.

This eighth test was SpaceX’s second attempt at launching a slightly extended version of Starship. This model is about two meters longer than its predecessor and can carry roughly 25% more fuel, theoretically extending its operational range. The spacecraft was not intended to enter Earth’s orbit but rather to follow a ballistic trajectory, re-entering the atmosphere over the Indian Ocean and performing a controlled landing maneuver over the sea, similar to previous test flights. Along the way, it was supposed to deploy several dummy satellites—simulations of the next-generation Starlink satellites—to test the deployment system. The test also aimed to demonstrate in-space ignition of one of its engines and, most importantly, evaluate improvements to the heat shields designed to withstand the extreme heat of atmospheric re-entry.

Before the launch, SpaceX engineers explained that the cause of the explosion in the previous test was resonance—a phenomenon in which an external force acts on an object at a frequency similar to its natural vibration, amplifying the forces acting on it and potentially leading to catastrophic failure. The most well-known example of this is the collapse of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge in Washington, USA, in 1940. It remains to be seen whether resonance was also responsible for this explosion—suggesting the issue was not fully resolved—or if another factor was at play. Following the previous explosion, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) launched an investigation, as required for any aerospace accident. The FAA only approved SpaceX’s eighth test flight earlier this week, and that decision will now come under scrutiny as part of the investigation into last night’s explosion.

A Brief History of Starship

The first test flight of the Starship system took place in April 2023, but the spacecraft failed to separate from the booster, forcing mission controllers to detonate both in midair. In the second test, in November 2023, SpaceX introduced the hot staging method, in which the spacecraft’s engines ignite before separation from the booster. This time, the separation was successful, and for the first time, the spacecraft reached space. However, a malfunction in its engine caused it to fall and burn up.

In the third test, in March 2024, the spacecraft burned up and exploded upon re-entry over the Indian Ocean, while the booster attempted a landing maneuver at sea but failed to complete it. In the fourth test, in June 2024, the spacecraft successfully re-entered the atmosphere and, despite sustaining damage to its flaps, carried out its planned landing maneuver over the Indian Ocean. The booster also completed its landing maneuver, this time over the Gulf of Mexico, not far from the launch site.

The fifth test, in October 2024, marked a major milestone: the booster successfully landed at the launch site for the first time, with a catch by the launch tower’s arms. The spacecraft, meanwhile, completed its landing maneuver over the Indian Ocean before intentionally plunging into the sea.

In the sixth test, due to weather conditions, SpaceX opted not to catch the booster with the launch tower and instead directed it to a landing at sea. The spacecraft once again executed its landing maneuver over the Indian Ocean, this time testing an improved heat shield.

In the sixth test, due to weather conditions, In the seventh test, in January this year, SpaceX successfully landed the booster on the launch mount again. However, the spacecraft itself, as previously mentioned, exploded in midair.

Success and failure in just 11 minutes. The eighth test flight of the Starship system: