SpaceX’s Starship Test Ends in Failure as Rocket Breaks Apart Mid-Flight

SpaceX launched the eighth test flight of its Starship rocket on Thursday, successfully completing the "catch" of the Super Heavy booster. However, less than ten minutes into the mission, the Starship lost altitude control and broke apart mid-flight, according to a report by the New York Post.

Engineers from SpaceX stated that the 400-foot-tall spacecraft, which took off from the company's Starbase facility near Boca Chica Beach in Texas, suffered a failure after several engines stopped working just 20 seconds before the end of the ascent burn.

In a statement on X, SpaceX confirmed that the vehicle experienced a "rapid unscheduled disassembly," leading to an immediate loss of contact. The company stated that it has begun reviewing flight data to determine the root cause of the failure, emphasizing that every test offers lessons to improve Starship's reliability.

During a live stream of the mission, nearly one million viewers witnessed the moment the rocket lost control before the cameras cut out completely. Starship was initially planned to splash down in the Indian Ocean, but videos circulating on social media showed flaming debris falling over the Atlantic Ocean. Observers in Turks and Caicos and the Bahamas captured footage of the wreckage lighting up the night sky as it crashed toward Earth.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed that flights at multiple Florida airports were temporarily grounded on Thursday due to the presence of space launch debris. Before losing contact with Starship 8, SpaceX had planned to deploy test satellites at the 17-minute mark of the mission.

Despite the failure, SpaceX successfully conducted its third "catch" of the Super Heavy booster, a key part of its reusable launch system. The booster, equipped with 33 Raptor engines, returned to the Texas launchpad, where it was caught by the "chopsticks" mechanical arms designed to recover the propellant stage for future missions.

Earlier this week, SpaceX had postponed the test flight just before its scheduled launch on Monday. The delay was caused by an issue with the Super Heavy booster, which was not resolved in time for the countdown. The launch attempt was rescheduled and carried out on Thursday, ultimately ending in failure.

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