SpaceX lost Starship: The eighth test flight ended in an explosion
Kyiv • UNN
During the eighth test flight, the Starship rocket exploded a few minutes after launch in Texas. The first stage successfully returned, but the second lost stability and was destroyed over South Florida.
SpaceX suffered another failure during the Starship test flight. This was reported by AFP, as conveyed by UNN.
Details
The eighth test launch of the rocket ended in an explosion a few minutes after takeoff from the launch site in Texas. The flight, which was supposed to replicate the deployment of satellites in orbit, turned into yet another disaster for Elon Musk's company.
Footage circulating on social media shows debris lighting up the night sky over South Florida and the Bahamas. The SpaceX broadcast captured the moment when the spacecraft lost stability, the engines shut down, and communication with the vehicle was lost shortly before its destruction.
In contrast, the first stage of the rocket successfully returned to the launch pad, indicating gradual progress in this part of the testing.
It is currently unknown what exactly caused the loss of the vehicle: whether it was due to a technical malfunction or if the flight termination system was activated.
Due to the incident, American aviation regulators temporarily imposed restrictions in the airspace, leading to brief flight delays at several major airports. Now SpaceX will have to conduct an investigation and provide a report before the next launch attempt.
This is already the second failure of Starship in 2025 – in January, the test mission also ended with the destruction of the vehicle. Despite this, SpaceX continues to work on the program, which is expected to be key in future flights to Mars.
