390.51
2 minute read
SpaceX launched the eighth integrated test flight of its Starship megarocket system Thursday night but it ended with a loss of the Starship vehicle like in the previous test.
While the company was successful in capturing a booster from the rocket as it returned to the launch tower, the Starship spacecraft was lost, resulting in a fiery explosion and disruptions to air traffic in Florida, CNN reported.
The uncrewed SpaceX Starship test flight lifted off at 5:30 p.m. CT (6:30 p.m. ET) from SpaceX’s Starbase facility in South Texas, according to CNN.
The loss of signal occurred at roughly the same point during this mission as with Flight 7, when Starship exploded over populated islands in Turks and Caicos, littering the islands with debris and striking a car.
The Federal Aviation Administration halted flights into Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Palm Beach, and Orlando airports for “falling space debris” until 8 p.m. ET.
SpaceX said in a statement that 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 root cause. As always, success comes from what we learn, and today’s flight will offer additional lessons to improve Starship's reliability.”
“We will conduct a thorough investigation, in coordination with the FAA, and implement corrective actions to make improvements on future Starship flight tests,” it added.