SpaceX’s Starship rocket fails another test

Starship loses control 30 minutes after launch due to an on-board fuel leak

Life

Image: SpaceX

SpaceX’s Starship experienced another setback during its ninth test flight. About 30 minutes after launch from Texas, the crewless rocket lost control due to an on-board fuel leak, leading to uncontrolled orbits and a premature re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere. SpaceX acknowledged the incident as a “rapid unplanned disassembly,” which meant the destruction of the rocket.

Despite the setback, SpaceX stressed the value of learning from each test. The company maintained that the data collected during this flight will help improve Starship’s reliability as they strive to make life multi-planetary. Before losing control, the 403-foot rocket exceeded the altitude achieved in previous test launches.

This latest failure follows a similar incident on 6 March when another Starship exploded shortly after liftoff. The debris from the failed launch prompted the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to reroute flights and temporarily halt departures at several Florida airports. Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX, has poured billions into the development of Starship, seeing it as crucial to his vision of colonising Mars.

SpaceX’s ambitious program, which includes collaboration with Nasa to return humans to the Moon, has faced criticism for the frequency of failed test flights and the resulting debris scattered across southern US states and the Caribbean. The company takes a ‘fail fast, learn fast’ approach and has recognised that progress is not always linear.

The FAA approved Tuesday’s test flight after significantly expanding the airspace closure zone to minimise risks. The launch required coordination with authorities in several countries, including the UK, Turks and Caicos Islands, Bahamas, Mexico and Cuba.

In a separate development, the FAA recently increased SpaceX’s annual launch rights from five to 25, despite objections from conservation groups who expressed concerns about environmental impact. Musk’s close relationship with the administration of former US President Donald Trump has drawn attention to potential conflicts of interest. In March, a complaint was filed alleging that business dealings between the FAA and Musk’s Starlink satellite network violated conflict of interest laws.

Business AM

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