SpaceX’s seventh Starship/Super Heavy test flight ended with a loss of the upper stage, breaking apart over the Caribbean. The incident occurred due to a harmonic response that created propellant leaks in the aft section of the vehicle. This led to fires, which caused all but one engine to shut down and resulted in the loss of communication with the ship.
The company investigated the cause, concluding that the most probable reason was an unexpectedly strong harmonic response during flight, causing increased stress on the propulsion system’s hardware. To address this issue, SpaceX performed an extended static fire test, firing its engines for 60 seconds to recreate the harmonic response seen during the failed flight. The findings informed hardware changes, including adjustments to propellant temperatures and a new operating thrust target.
SpaceX is moving ahead with the next Starship mission, Flight 8, scheduled to launch as soon as February 28 from the company’s Starbase site in Texas. This test will include deploying mass simulators of next-generation Starlink satellites and testing new technologies for reentry protection.
Source: https://spacenews.com/spacex-completes-investigation-into-starship-flight-7-mishap