by SpaceX started his huge starship rocket on the eighth test flight of the program on Thursday, but a kind of malfunction triggered several times switching off the upper level, and the vehicle was unable to reach its planned suborbital height and broke apart in a spectacular shower of rubble.
It was that Second failure in a row Astronauten to the moon for a lower level of the upper level, a vehicle that decides on NASA’s plans in the next few years.
“During the rise of the Starship burning, the vehicle experienced a quick unscheduled disassembly and the contact was lost. Our team immediately started to implement the planned planned contingency responses,” said SpaceX in an explanation.
“We will check the data from today’s flight test to better understand the basic cause. As always, the success comes from what we learn, and today’s flight offers additional lessons to improve the reliability of the Starship.”
Rubers roam through the sky after SpaceX’s spaceship spaceship was seen in space from March 6, 2025 in this screen grip from social media videos from Big Sampson Kay, Bahamas. / Loan: @_ericloosen_/ via Reuters
“Obviously to do a lot, go through a lot.” The main reason why we carry out these flight tests is learning. We have a little more to learn about this vehicle, but we will be back here in the not too distant future and we will bring a ship to space. “
The Federal Aviation Administration said that it ordered a misfortune examination for the loss of the spaceship.
The flights at several airports in Florida were temporarily grounded due to the risk of falling ruins.
The floor stops have now been lifted, but the FAA reported that the international airport Miami and Fort Lauderdale – Hollywood International Airport had both departure delays of about 45 minutes, the cause was listed as a “start of space”. Flights at Palm Beach International Airport and at Orlando International Airport were also affected.
“During the event, the FAA activated a rubble reaction area and slowed down the aircraft outside the area in which Space vehicles fell, or stopped aircraft at its departure location. The normal operations have resumed,” said the agency.
Social -Media users in Südflorida and the Caribbean have posted videos that fall back the remains of the spacecraft on earth.
The start started according to plan
Three days after a peeling at the last minute due to unspecified technical problems, SpaceX set up the 33 methane brake engines of the Super Heavy First Stage at 6:30 p.m. Two seconds later, the highest and most powerful rocket in the world took off from the company’s starting place on Texas Gulf Coast.
Commerce up to 16 million pounds of thrust more than twice as high as the Saturn 5 mondraces from NASAA, the super heavy starship towards the east was of long jet bluish flame.
After the 230-foot-high, 30-foot width of super-heavy booster with 30 feet wide Super-Hef level, which is known as “Chopsticks”, the 230-foot-wide, super heavy mechanical arms flew from the thick lower atmosphere.
SpaceX’s Mega rockets from SpaceX will be recaptured on March 6, 2025 during a Starbase test flight in Boca Chica, Texas. / Credit: Eric Gay / AP
The chopsticks closed around the slowly descending booster and reducing structural captivation devices on both sides of the rocket. The third dramatic starting pillow, the third SpaceX, is a key element in the company’s plan to enable quick renovation and reuse.
/ Credit: SpaceX
The super heavy booster flew back to the start pad to catch two huge mechanical arms. It was SpaceX ‘third successful booster catch in a row. / Credit: SpaceX
The 160-foot high level of the spaceship upper level now rose to space, as planned, planned for the power of six raptor engines, and seemed to work without errors when it rose towards the planned sub orbital flight.
8 minutes after the withdrawal trouble
But a little more than eight minutes after the withdrawal, Telemetry on the Live Webcast from SpaceX indicated that four of the six engines were closed prematurely. A camera on the spaceship showed that the spaceship turned around, and contact was lost a few seconds later.
Several videos published on social media showed a dramatic shower of ruins that bent back after the vehicle appeared. It was not immediately clear whether the separation was triggered by the self -destruction system of the spaceship or extreme structural loads when it fell back into the lower atmosphere.
While SpaceX will undoubtedly try their usual quick recovery, the Federal Aviation Administration will almost certainly order another failure examination. In view of two destructive separations in a row, it could take longer to return to flight status this time.
The flight schedule required a number of tests, including the use of four simulated Starlink satellites, to test the Starship’s payload publication system, the restart of one of the rocket raptor engines and tests with new heat-shaped materials and components, which are required for the ultimate PAD record of return.
At the end of the sub orbital flight, the spaceship was first falling into the belly of the atmosphere. According to the region of maximum atmospheric warming, the rocket was programmed so that it turned into a vertical orientation before setting up with a rocket drive -powered “soft landing” in the Indian Ocean near Australia.
But it shouldn’t be.
The start in January ended with self -destruction
During the seventh integrated flight test of the program or ift in January, a fire developed directly via the Super HEF level engines and the contact lost eight minutes and 20 seconds after the start.
Three minutes later, the rocket’s self -destruction system triggered an explosion that broke the spaceship apart and produced a spectacular shower of flaming rubble that rained along the flight path.
The telemetry showed that the fire broke out after brewing lines that led to one of the raptors had broken out due to unexpected harmonious vibrations. SpaceX carried out a 60-second engine test of the engine of the spaceship introduced on Monday and examined the answers to different push levels.
Based on the test results, the feed pipes of the driving agents were modified, the power temperatures were changed and the Thrust values were adjusted to avoid such harmonious reactions. In the area in which the fire broke out, additional ventilation openings were installed and a nitrogen system was added to minimize the fire brigade.
It was not immediately known what went wrong on Thursday.
Starship program for the moon
The drafting of the errors from the super heavy daring is of crucial importance for both SpaceX and NASA. SpaceX is under contract with NASA to deliver a modified spaceship to bring astronauts in the landings near the southern pole of the moon in the agency’s artemis program.
In order to bring a spaceship to the moon, SpaceX must first bring it into the orbit with low earth and then bring several “tankers” onto the market for super heavy power to recharge their back for the ride to travel to the lunar orbit.
The astronauts will start on the rocket for the NASA space start system and fly to the moon on board a Lockheed Martin-built Orion capsule. The crew is transferred to the waiting spaceships for the descent to the moon surface. NASA hopes to send the first woman and the next man to the moon in the period 2027-28 after a non-agricultural landscape landscape.
Fast reusability is a key element of the program in view of the number of super-heavy powerful ones that are required for a single moon landing. Several successful test flights are required to perfect the system and demonstrate the reliability that is required to wear astronauts.
The recent misfortune falls in the middle of ambitious SpaceX plans for important upgrades of the company’s facilities in the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and builds a 380-foot building, in which super heavy booster and starships can be renovated and processed by one and possibly two Florida start pads.
The highly towering “Gigabay” arilas will offer 46.5 million cubic room for processing with 815,000 square meters of work. The construction is expected to be completed by the end of 2026. Another facility is planned in which Florida spaceships can be built from scratch, similar to Boca Chica.
“In order to enable the initial Starship flights from Florida from the production, integration and renovation systems in the Space Coast Starship, we will first complete super heavy booster and shipping ships from the upper level of Starbase over barge to build a Starship fleet in Florida,” said SpaceX on Monday in a statement.
“With production, integration, renovation and starting facilities in Florida and in Texas, we will be able to quickly promote the start rate of Starship through quick reusability.”
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