SpaceXs ninth Starship test flight ends in another explosion

SpaceX's ninth Starship test flight ended abruptly on Tuesday when the rocket experienced a "rapid unscheduled disassembly" — the company's favourite euphemism for "exploded." It's the third Starship test flight in a row to end in fiery failure, Elon Musk's space company having had a poor run as of late.

Starship's uncrewed test flight took off at 6:36 p.m. local time (7:36 p.m. EDT / 4:36 p.m. PDT), launching from SpaceX's Starbase launch pad in Brownsville, Texas. This was SpaceX's first attempt to reuse a Super Heavy rocket deployed in a previous flight, utilising the same booster from their seventh Starship test in January.

Attached to the Super Heavy rocket booster, the plan was for Starship to eventually separate and continue its ascent solo, releasing fake Starlink satellites into orbit before splashing down. SpaceX also intended for the Super Heavy rocket to splash down in the Gulf of Mexico/America, rather than attempt to catch it with the "chopstick" arms of the Mechazilla, Starbase's launch tower. 

Credit: Sergio Flores / AFP via Getty Images

Unfortunately for SpaceX, its plans didn't come to fruition. While the test flight successfully reached the separation stage, the Super Heavy rocket ultimately exploded six minutes after launch. The Starship spacecraft continued on, however its payload bay door did not open, preventing its fake satellites from launching. SpaceX subsequently lost contact with Starship 46 minutes after launch, with the vehicle spinning uncontrollably before exploding over the Indian Ocean.

An investigation will likely be conducted to determine exactly what caused SpaceX's latest fiery explosion. However, it currently appears that a leak in the Starship's fuel tank systems may have contributed, with Musk stating on X that "leaks caused loss of main tank pressure during the coast and re-entry phase." Despite this, he appeared unbothered by the failure, focusing on the positives instead.

"Starship made it to the scheduled ship engine cutoff, so big improvement over last flight!" Musk wrote.

The billionaire also stated that SpaceX's next three test flights will occur more rapidly, "at approximately 1 every 3 to 4 weeks."

Though the Starship test flight did not go as planned, it at least lasted longer than the previous two, which saw the spacecraft explode less than 10 minutes into the operation. Since the last test flight in March, SpaceX stated that it had conducted an investigation and modified the Starship's hardware to "increase reliability" for its ninth test flight. Unfortunately, it seems that further changes may be required.

"Teams will continue to review data and work toward our next flight test," SpaceX's official X account wrote after Tuesday's explosion. "With a test like this, success comes from what we learn, and today’s test will help us improve Starship’s reliability as SpaceX seeks to make life multiplanetary."