This launch debuted a more advanced, slightly larger version of Starship, known as Version 2 or Block 2, with larger propellant tanks, a new avionics system, and redesigned supply lines that flowed methane and liquid oxygen propellants to the ship's six Raptor engines. SpaceX officials did not say whether any of these changes could have caused the problem on Thursday's launch.
SpaceX officials have repeatedly and carefully set expectations for each Starship test flight. They routinely call the rocket experimental, and the primary focus of the rocket's initial demo missions is to collect data on the vehicle's performance. What works, and what doesn't work?
Still, the outcome of Thursday's test flight is a clear disappointment for SpaceX. This was the seventh test flight of SpaceX's massive rocket, and the first time Starship has not completed its launch sequence since its second flight in November 2023. To date, SpaceX has made steady progress, with each Starship flight reaching more milestones than the last.
During its maiden flight in April 2023, the rocket lost control just over two minutes after liftoff, and the ground-shaking force of the booster's 33 engines shattered the concrete foundation beneath the launch pad. Seven months later, during Flight 2, the rocket made it eight minutes before failing. ODuring that mission, Starship failed at about the same point in its ascent, just before the vehicle's six methane-fueled Raptor engines shut down.
At the time, a handful of photos and images from the Florida Keys and Puerto Rico showed debris in the sky after Starship activated its self-destruct mechanism due to an onboard fire caused by a dump of liquid oxygen propellant. But that flight took place in the morning, with bright sunlight along the ship's flight path.
This time, the ship disintegrated and reentered the atmosphere at dusk, with pristine lighting conditions accentuating the appearance of the debris cloud. These twilight conditions likely contributed to the flood of videos posted to social media on Thursday.
The spaceship and Super Heavy fly down from SpaceX's launch site near Brownsville, Texas.
Credit: SpaceX
During the third Starship test flight last March, the spacecraft achieved its planned trajectory and flew halfway around the world before succumbing to the searing heat of atmospheric reentry. In June, the fourth test flight ended with controlled splashdowns of the rocket's Super Heavy booster in the Gulf of Mexico and Starship in the Indian Ocean.
Then, in October, SpaceX recovered the Super Heavy booster from the launch pad for the first time using mechanical arms, proving the company's bold approach to recovering and reusing the rocket. During this fifth test flight, SpaceX modified the ship's heat shield to better handle the high temperatures of reentry, and the vehicle once again achieved a landing on the target in the Indian Ocean.
Most recently, Flight 6 on November 19 demonstrated the ship's ability to reignite its Raptor engines for the first time in space, concluding once again with a bullseye splashdown. But SpaceX aborted an attempt to recapture the booster at Starbase due to a problem with the sensors on the launch pad tower.
