SpaceX Starship launch ends in failure after two explosions in 2025: See photos, videos
SpaceX's Starship launch on Tuesday evening marked a failure, following two earlier explosions this year and marking the ninth test flight overall.
From launch to loss of the ship, high-quality footage was sent to the live coverage via Starlink. The world watched as, once again, the massive launch system did not go as hoped. The May 27 flight was aimed at testing much more than what transpired. While the ship coasted this time for close to 40 minutes and made it to the planned area of reentry, it ended up in a spin, which caused it to break apart over the Indian Ocean.
There were no injuries, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
Of the eight previous flights, outcomes were evenly split between successes and failures, making Tuesday's mission, which ended in another explosion, a continued challenge in the company's quest for orbital launch reliability.
Starship's first two flight tests of 2025 – on Jan. 16 and again on March 6 – ended in dramatic explosions that sent cascades of fiery debris streaking across the sky. In both mishaps, the upper stage, the vehicle where astronauts and cargo would ride, came apart mere minutes into its flight instead of landing as planned in the Indian Ocean.
In the Flight 9 test mission, SpaceX made modifications to the 400-foot vehicle as the company continues to develop Starship for future expeditions to the moon and Mars.
For the first time, SpaceX reused a Super Heavy booster rocket that had previously flown. The booster was first used during Starship's seventh test flight in January, which ended in failure. While some components were new, including a replaced heat shield, most of the hardware was reused, or what SpaceX calls "flight-proven," including 29 of its 33 Raptor engines.
SpaceX said it is hoping the data it gathers from reusing a booster will help the company progress toward faster turnaround times between Starship launches. The objective comes as the Federal Aviation Administration, which licenses commercial rocket launches, gave SpaceX the green light earlier in May to conduct 25 Starship launches per year.
Ultimately, SpaceX intends for future generations of the rocket to be capable of multiple liftoffs per day.
Starship, SpaceX's most powerful rocket, launched from the company's Starbase facility in Boca Chica — a beachside town near Brownsville, just off the Gulf of Mexico and about 20 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border.
While the base itself isn't open to the public for launch viewing, a nearby spot has become a popular gathering place for Texans and space enthusiasts hoping to catch a glimpse of Starship lifting off.
Isla Blanca Park, 33174 State Park Road 100, is located on the southernmost tip of South Padre Island. With more than a mile of beaches, the park reliably attracts sizable crowds anytime Starship is due for its latest flight test.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: SpaceX's Starship flight was a failure. See photos, videos of launch
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