Elon Musk’s SpaceX launched its mega rocket Starship this morning on a third test flight after the earlier two failed. However, the third test also met the same fate just minutes after liftoff. The rocket encountered a critical failure and was lost in flight.
SpaceX’s Starship failed as the megarocket exploded. The company’s founder, Elon Musk, blamed it on fuel leaks. This is the third time in a row that Starship flight has faced issues during the test flight. The company’s last two test flights, the seventh test in January and the eighth in March, also ended prematurely with the destruction of the aircraft.
Today’s test, the ninth test flight of Starship, had successfully reached orbit, flying farther than on its two previous attempts. However, the spacecraft’s payload bay door failed to open, preventing the planned release of simulated Starlink satellites. Around 30 minutes into the mission, SpaceX confirmed a fuel tank leak aboard the vehicle.
The first-stage Super Heavy booster exploded shortly before its expected splashdown, and live video showed the upper-stage vehicle spinning uncontrollably before its planned re-entry through Earth’s atmosphere, due to fuel leaks.
However, Musk called the flight an achievement and noted that there had been no loss to the heat shield tiles. SpaceX noted that the company will continue to review data and work toward our next flight test.
