The Starship achieved orbital velocity on its third test flight. However, the booster failed to regain control upon reentry, leading to the loss of the upper stage Starship. The FAA will oversee the investigation led by SpaceX, which will focus on the mishap involving the booster and upper stage Starship.
SpaceX has become accustomed to unexpected fires, crashes, and explosions, with many of its innovations stemming from failures. Failures have taught SpaceX how to mitigate risks associated with space travel.
At 8:25 AM Central Time, onlookers ranging from spring break vacationers to rocket launch enthusiasts and SpaceX aficionados gathered along the southern shores of South Padre Island, Texas, and its surrounding areas to witness the third test flight of the largest rocket ever. Roughly 8 kilometers to the south, SpaceX's giant Starship rocket took off from Boca Chica, Texas, piercing the early morning sky.
The third test flight of the Starship achieved orbital velocity for the first time, marking the closest success yet for the Starship's testing. While the launch completed nearly the entire flight, reaching further than previous attempts, the rocket ultimately met its demise during reentry to Earth's atmosphere.
This test flight coincided with SpaceX's 22nd anniversary, and several key milestones achieved could potentially alter the future of space transportation and aid in astronauts' moon landings. According to Reuters, SpaceX plans to conduct at least six Starship test flights this year, pending regulatory approval. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has stated it will supervise the investigation led by SpaceX, focusing on the incident involving the booster and upper stage Starship.
Reaching Orbital Velocity
The Starship stands as the world's largest and most powerful rocket, comprising the first-stage "Super Heavy" booster and the second-stage "Starship" spacecraft, standing at a total height of 120 meters and designed for reusable capabilities for both components.
Approximately 2 minutes and 45 seconds after liftoff, the Starship's two stages separated, with the 50-meter-tall Starship spacecraft continuing its journey into space while the booster prepared for reentry trajectory adjustment. About 3 minutes into the flight, the booster began its descent back to Earth. However, the booster failed to ignite all engines as planned, subsequently losing control and tumbling towards Earth. The booster ultimately disintegrated, failing to achieve SpaceX's intended soft landing. SpaceX reported that the booster disintegrated at an altitude of approximately 1500 feet (about 0.46 kilometers), according to The New York Times.
Live video footage transmitted nearly in real-time from Starlink satellites depicted hot gases venting from the rocket's base. The ascent proceeded smoothly, with "Starship achieving orbital velocity," as announced by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk on social media. Approximately 45 minutes after liftoff, it began its reentry into the atmosphere, but communication was lost after 4 minutes. SpaceX later confirmed that the Starship failed to survive reentry and likely disintegrated, plummeting into the ocean.
Nevertheless, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson congratulated SpaceX, calling it a "successful test flight." NASA, SpaceX's largest customer, has high hopes for the Starship, which plays a central role in NASA's Artemis program to return astronauts to the Moon.
The Starship also embodies Musk's Mars ambitions. Musk envisions colonizing Mars in the coming decades, with about 1 million people transported to establish a self-sustaining city. The Starship serves as the transportation vessel, with Musk aiming to build over 1,000 Starships to ferry life to Mars. Musk has described the Starship as a "very modern Noah's Ark."
Phil Larson, a former White House space advisor during the Obama administration who previously worked at SpaceX in communications, noted the enormous potential of the Starship's size and reusability to revolutionize current space transportation norms, enabling entirely new types of missions.
Musk has emphasized the need for hundreds of unmanned flights before carrying the first humans, stating earlier this week his hope for at least six Starship flights this year.
Most of the third test flight proceeded smoothly, achieving objectives such as opening and closing the payload bay doors, crucial for future cargo transport. However, the Starship remains far from the Moon and Mars, with SpaceX engineers needing to determine why it did not survive reentry into the atmosphere.
Innovation Stemming from Failure
SpaceX has grown accustomed to unexpected fires, crashes, and explosions. Compared to many established aerospace companies, SpaceX appears more adept at managing risks.
The partial success of this test flight stems from technological refinement following last year's two explosive test flights. Both the first test flight in April and the second in November ended in explosions, but the data collected during these flights helped SpaceX engineers better design the Starship. The successful test of the heat shield separation technology during the second flight was crucial for this third attempt. "Many of our innovations come from our failures, teaching us how to mitigate the risks of spaceflight," said SpaceX Flight Operations Engineer Siva Bharadvaj during the live broadcast.
Following the explosion during the second test flight last year, the Federal Aviation Administration required SpaceX to implement 17 corrective actions, including hardware redesigns, engine analyses, and robustness updates for both the first-stage Super Heavy booster and the second-stage Starship.
SpaceX implemented a series of upgrades to its rocket systems. After the leak-induced fire that led to the destruction of the Starship during the November test, avoiding such fires was a top priority for the third flight. SpaceX made adjustments to eliminate the need for liquid oxygen dumping before engine shutdown, and hardware modifications were made to reduce the risk of leaks. Additionally, SpaceX equipped its latest Starship prototype with additional fire suppression systems and implemented updates for flammability analysis, as stated by the FAA.
Upgrades were also made to improve engine performance and flight control. SpaceX updated the control algorithms for the Super Heavy booster's engines and added new large swing arms on the liquid oxygen tanks to reduce excessive movement during booster flip maneuvers. The Starship transmitted views of space back to Earth during ascent, maintaining a robust data link with mission control, thanks to upgrades to the rocket's Starlink terminals and the addition of new Starlink satellite antennas. Rapid iteration forms the cornerstone of all major innovative advancements at SpaceX, whether it's the development of Falcon rockets, Dragon spacecraft, or Starlink. "If you don't have failures, you're not learning, you're not pushing the envelope enough," remarked Kate Tice, SpaceX's Quality Systems Engineer, during a launch livestream.
