SpaceX conducted the eighth integrated test flight of its massive Starship rocket system, aiming to push the spacecraft to its limits and achieve objectives missed during January’s fiery test. However, like the previous test flight, this attempt also resulted in the loss of the Starship vehicle.
Despite this setback, SpaceX successfully captured the Super Heavy booster upon its return to the launch tower—marking the third time the company has accomplished this feat using the “Mechazilla” chopstick arms.
The uncrewed mission lifted off from SpaceX’s Starbase facility in South Texas at 5:30 p.m. CT (6:30 p.m. ET), following a one-day delay due to uncertainties cited by CEO Elon Musk. Starship, which serves as the upper stage of the system, was carried atop the 232-foot-tall (71-meter-tall) Super Heavy rocket booster. Roughly two and a half minutes into the flight, the two stages successfully separated.
While the booster made a controlled return to the launch site, Starship fired its engines to continue its suborbital trajectory. However, about 20 seconds before completing its ascent burn, SpaceX lost contact with the spacecraft. The livestream showed multiple engine shutdowns before the vehicle started spinning uncontrollably.
“Once you lose enough of those center engines, you’re going to lose attitude control,” explained SpaceX’s Dan Huot. “At this point, we have lost contact with the ship.”
Seventeen and a half minutes after launch, Starship was supposed to release a batch of test Starlink satellites, though these were not designed to reach orbit. However, contact was lost before deployment, and the spacecraft likely exploded. Reports suggest the explosion was visible from parts of Florida and occurred over the Caribbean, similar to Flight 7, which ended in an explosion over the Turks and Caicos Islands.
As a precaution, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) temporarily halted flights at major Florida airports, including Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Palm Beach, and Orlando, due to the risk of falling debris. Departures from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood and Miami International Airports were also suspended, with average delays ranging from 30 to 45 minutes.
SpaceX later confirmed the incident in an update on X (formerly Twitter), stating: “During Starship’s ascent burn, the vehicle experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly, and contact was lost. Our team immediately began coordination with safety officials to implement pre-planned contingency responses. We will review the data from today’s flight test to better understand the root cause. As always, success comes from what we learn, and today’s flight will offer additional lessons to improve Starship’s reliability.”
The FAA has mandated a mishap investigation to determine the cause of the failure and identify corrective measures. The regulatory agency will oversee the SpaceX-led investigation and must approve the final report before allowing another test flight.
