In brief
Despite losing the upper stage shortly after launch, the Super Heavy booster managed a successful return.
SpaceX’s latest attempt to propel its Starship rocket into the sky came to an unexpected halt just minutes after lift-off from its Texas facility on Thursday. The ambitious mission culminated in the loss of the upper stage, yet the company celebrated the successful recovery of its Super Heavy booster as it returned to the launchpad without incident, igniting applause from the ground control team.The dual goals of Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin both hinge on their objectives to dominate the burgeoning space vehicle market, with the latest launch occurring only hours after Blue Origin successfully propelled its New Glenn rocket system into orbit.In a transparent update, SpaceX revealed on social media, "Starship experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly during its ascent burn. Teams will continue to review data from today's flight test to better understand root causes." The message emphasized the company’s commitment to learning from setbacks, promising enhancements to Starship's reliability in future tests. Observations from unverified videos popping up on social media suggest a dramatic disintegration of the rocket mid-ascent, with bright orange flashes lighting the sky, including sightings over Port-Au-Prince, Haiti. Musk offered his usual flair for showmanship, tweeting, “Success is uncertain, but entertainment is guaranteed!” Alongside the visuals, he hinted at "improved versions" of the spacecraft already prepared for subsequent launches.Following the incident, Musk detailed the preliminary findings, indicating an oxygen-fuel leak that likely created pressure beyond the vent capacity above the ship engine firewall. Encouragingly, he reassured that preparations might still allow for the next launch as early as next month.The Starship’s seventh test mission began at 17:38 EST (22:38 GMT), as the upper stage separated from the Super Heavy booster approximately four minutes into the flight. Soon after, however, communications were disrupted, casting uncertainty on the status of the Starship itself.Meanwhile, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) monitored the situation closely, confirming they noted the anomaly during the mission. They subsequently adjusted air traffic around the debris zone until it was deemed safe to resume normal operations.This test launch follows a busy week for SpaceX, having successfully dispatched a Falcon 9 rocket from Florida that carried lunar landers and a micro rover toward the Moon. In parallel, Blue Origin’s endeavor marks a significant achievement for Bezos, reaching a pivotal milestone in the race to send rockets into orbit effectively after years of development.
