SpaceX knows how to put on a show.
The company launched its seventh test flight of the Starship megarocket from its Starbase site in south Texas this afternoon. The 403-foot-tall (123-meter) vehicle took off safely and stage separation was successful. And its first stage booster, called Super Heavy, returned to the starbase for a dramatic catch by the launch tower’s “chopstick” arm.
But about eight minutes into the flight, SpaceX lost contact with the Starship upper stage, known as Ship. The cause of the problem is unknown at this time, but one thing is certain: the ship departed with a noise.
The 171-foot-tall (52-meter) spacecraft exploded over the Atlantic Ocean near the Turks and Caicos Islands about eight and a half minutes after liftoff, creating a spectacular sky show witnessed by many people in the area.
And a significant number of these people posted photos and videos on social media site X, owned by SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk.
Related: SpaceX catches super-heavy booster in Starship Flight 7 test, but loses in upper stage (video, photos)
Just saw the most insane #spacedebris #meteorshower in Turks and Caicos Islands @elonmusk What is that?? pic.twitter.com/a7f4MbEB8Q January 16, 2025
Starship Flight 7 disbands and re-enters the skies over the Turks and Caicos Islands pic.twitter.com/iuQ0YAy17O January 16, 2025
Icon of the Seas (Caribbean) spacecraft @SpaceX @elonmusk pic.twitter.com/1zzspKDgNUJanuary 16, 2025
This is the exact moment Ship 33 experienced RUD. https://t.co/in2nZBWNV8 pic.twitter.com/iI7DtLiZlEJanuary 16, 2025
“Starship experienced an unplanned rapid disintegration during an ascent burn. The team will continue to review data from today’s flight test to better understand the root cause. With tests like this, success depends on our Today’s flight will help improve Starship’s reliability,” SpaceX said via X this evening.
“Unplanned rapid disassembly” (SpaceX’s preferred term for explosion) is not uncommon during the development of new rockets.
And SpaceX certainly won’t be fazed by today’s results. The company is used to working quickly, flying frequently, and incorporating lessons learned from test flights into its next vehicle build. And today there was a sign of hope. The capture of the super-heavy Chopsticks demonstrated SpaceX’s planned recovery strategy for both the booster and the ship.
Today’s challenge is the second for SpaceX, which first accomplished the feat with Starship 5 in October.
