Things were looking good when the SpaceX Super Heavy thundered off the launchpad perched on the lip of the South Texas Coast on Thursday evening – right up until they weren’t, that is.
After having to scrub the previously scheduled launch on Monday — CEO Elon Musk said there were “too many question marks” — even the pair of commentators, Daniel Huot, SpaceX’s communications manager, and Kate Tice, senior quality systems engineering manager at SpaceX seemed uncertain the launch would happen right up until it did.
When the final countdown rolled to zero, the 400-foot-tall rocket thundered majestically off the launchpad at Starbase, SpaceX’s launching facility located just outside of Brownsville. As it ripped through the air, all 33 of the Raptor engines ignited, generating 16 million pounds of thrust, Tice noted, an excellent sign.
From there, the Super Heavy booster went through a clean separation, with Starship rocketing further into the atmosphere while the booster began a controlled descent back to Earth. Once again, the Mechazilla – a pair of enormous, mechanized pincers or “chopsticks” – widened and then embraced the booster as it lowered itself back onto the launchpad in a move that is still a sight to see on its third successful attempt.
Things weren’t going so great for Starship though. Moments after the SpaceX employees cheered the reusable booster’s landing, Starship’s engines began going out. Then the employees watching went silent – or the feed from their viewing party was cut off – as Huot relayed that they’d lost altitude control of the vehicle. Video from Starship showed the spacecraft tumbling and whirling out of control. Soon, the pair announced SpaceX had lost all contact with the vehicle.
The two commentators popped back on minutes later. “We’ve got a lot of measures in place like debris response areas where we coordinate with Air Traffic Control,” Huot said, standing before a picture window that displayed the booster perched on the Starbase launchpad on the edge of Boca Chica Beach.
Seemingly keeping in mind that the previous Super Heavy test flight in January had rained debris on the islands of Turks and Caicos, Huot rushed to reassure viewers: “We have a lot of measures put [in place] before we ever launch a rocket to make sure that we’re keeping the public safe. Those worked last time and they’re actively working now.”
As with the seventh test launch in January, people were posting on social media within minutes with videos showing that the ship broke up over islands in the Caribbean and the Atlantic. We won’t officially know exactly where the debris fell – or how prepared the people on any inhabited areas it was falling on – until SpaceX and, perhaps, the Federal Aviation Administration, get around to detailing what happened. The falling debris was visible from Florida and briefly delayed flights in that state.
One thing is clear: The eighth test launch certainly didn’t go according to plan.
As soon as it became evident Starship was gone, Tice was prepared with a sunny line about that, though. “We fly to learn at this point we’re learning a lot,” she quickly told viewers. “Progress is not always linear.”
Update 8 a.m. 3-7-25
Although the Super Heavy booster returned to the Starbase launchpad on the South Texas Coast as planned on Thursday evening, Starship experienced “an energetic event” during its ascent burn, one that led to the vehicle exploding, SpaceX has confirmed in a statement.
“Any surviving debris would have fallen within the pre-planned Debris Response Area,” the statement contended. “There are no toxic materials present in the debris and no significant impacts expected to occur to marine species or water quality.”
That will be a relief to those who found themselves impacted by debris from another “rapid unscheduled disassembly” that social media users in Florida documented. As with the previous explosion back in January, this incident dropped rocket debris on the islands of Turks and Caicos. In response to Thursday’s explosion the Federal Aviation Administration issued a ground stoppage order for flights in and around the Caribbean. This in turn caused flight delays in airports from Florida to Pennsylvania.
Despite the fact that SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and his minions have been rummaging through the FAA for weeks now, it doesn’t seem to have impacted the agency’s response to this incident as of now. The FAA has grounded the Super Heavy and ordered SpaceX to conduct an investigation of the incident.
