SpaceX has conducted its seventh test launch of the most powerful rocket in history, Starship. The company achieved a certain level of success by repeating the feat of returning the Super Heavy booster to the launch pad, but the Starship spacecraft itself was lost after 8.5 minutes of flight.
This was reported on the website of SpaceX.
The rocket was launched from the Boca Chica launch site in Texas. The first reusable stage, Super Heavy, successfully lifted the spacecraft into orbit and then returned to the launch pad on the ground.
The upper stage separated in the sky, with all six Raptor engines igniting, but then they failed and communication with the spacecraft was lost.
SpaceX founder Elon Musk has already indicated a preliminary cause for the failure: “Preliminary data suggests that we had an oxygen/fuel leak in the cavity above the engine's fireproof bulkhead, which was large enough to create pressure exceeding the vent's capacity. In addition to, obviously, double-checking for leaks, we will add fire suppression to that volume and likely increase the vent area.”
According to him, the eighth launch will take place in the coming month.
In a press release, SpaceX stated that “initial data indicates that a fire occurred in the rear section of the spacecraft, leading to a rapid unplanned disassembly with debris falling into the Atlantic Ocean within pre-defined hazard zones.”
Starship is a rocket that, according to Musk, will someday transport humans to Mars. NASA is also paying SpaceX to develop a version of the spacecraft to return American astronauts to the Moon.
Recall that after the unsuccessful launch of the Super Heavy Starship rocket in April 2023, Elon Musk’s net worth dropped by nearly $13 billion.
Recently, Musk announced that SpaceX plans to launch about five uncrewed Starship missions to Mars over the next two years.
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