SpaceX’s Starship rocket suffered another failure during its latest test flight on Thursday, with its upper stage exploding in space, causing debris to fall over Florida airports and disrupting air traffic.
The rocket, designed to take people to Mars, failed due to a malfunctioning upper-stage spacecraft that lost contact with mission control after several engines went out. The Starship system is the largest ever built, standing at 403 feet tall, and powered by 33 of SpaceX’s Raptor engines.
Despite the failure, the massive booster successfully returned to the launchpad, just like during previous test flights. However, the incident highlights ongoing issues with the rocket’s reliability. The Federal Aviation Administration (F.A.A.) has grounded Starship until SpaceX completes an investigation into the incident.
The F.A.A.’s decision comes after a series of glitches with SpaceX’s rockets, including a Falcon 9 launch in February where an upper stage failed to execute its usual engine burn. This latest failure is the second consecutive test flight where the upper-stage spacecraft malfunctioned.
NASA plans to use Starship for its Artemis III mission, currently scheduled for 2027, but the success of this mission relies heavily on the rocket’s reliability. SpaceX will need to demonstrate high levels of reliability before taking people to space.
As the investigation into Thursday’s incident continues, SpaceX is working to address the problems that led to the failure. The company has made changes to its design and systems to reduce oscillations and prevent leaks of propellant that ignited during previous test flights.
While this latest failure may be a setback for SpaceX, the company remains committed to its ambitious plans to take humans to Mars.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/06/science/spacex-starship-launch.html