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On Tuesday, SpaceX launched Starship for its ninth flight, showing improved performance compared to its earlier attempts. However, the spacecraft encountered issues during reentry about 45 minutes after takeoff, resulting in it breaking apart over the Indian Ocean.
The Super Heavy booster experienced a catastrophic failure during its descent. This explosion was anticipated, as SpaceX was evaluating a new system that intensified pressure on the vehicle.
As SpaceX analyzes data gathered from this ninth mission of the most powerful rocket ever built, take a moment to appreciate the impressive visuals captured during the initial phases of the test.
The Starship rocket, featuring both the upper-stage spacecraft and the first-stage Super Heavy booster, lifted off from SpaceX’s Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, at 6:30 p.m. local time.
Just sixteen seconds into the flight, and everything looked good for the rocket.
The entire system towers over 120 meters and generates a staggering 17 million pounds of thrust at launch.
At twenty-eight seconds into the flight, the rocket reached a speed of 393 km/h (244 mph).
The Raptor engines on the Super Heavy burned fiercely as they propelled Starship toward orbit.
This perspective offers a view from a camera mounted on the Starship.
A dazzling display occurred as the Starship separated from the Super Heavy booster.
This image shows the first-stage booster coming back to Earth at high velocity. SpaceX noted during its livestream, “Super Heavy may not have a smooth descent, as we’re adjusting to a higher angle of attack, which increases drag. We’ve tested this in wind tunnels and through simulations, but control can still be challenging.”
Just over six minutes into the flight, the Super Heavy experienced a catastrophic explosion. This incident had been somewhat anticipated, and the SpaceX team is expected to gather a wealth of data to assist in refining the design for the next flight of Starship.
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