SpaceX’s Starship breaks up mid-flight, airlines forced to avoid debris space news
Acknowledging the failure of the mission, Elon Musk posted on Twitter that ‘Success is uncertain, but entertainment is guaranteed.’
SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft has broken up mid-flight, forcing airlines to divert flights to avoid debris.
While Elon Musk’s company successfully repeated its previous feat of capturing the first stage booster as it returned to Earth on Thursday, its new-generation unmanned spacecraft was lost.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) “briefly” slowed the plane and changed its direction around the area where the spacecraft debris was falling, the aviation regulator said.
“Normal operations have resumed,” a spokesperson said.
At least 20 flights changed their routes to avoid possible debris, according to data from flight tracking website FlightRadar24, as footage on social media showed parts of the vehicle re-entering the atmosphere over the Caribbean.
Musk said it appeared the spacecraft’s breakup was caused by an oxygen or fuel leak into the cavity above the ship’s engine firewall.
Musk on his social media platform
Musk had earlier acknowledged the failure of the mission, posting footage of falling debris.
“Success is uncertain, but entertainment is guaranteed!” He said.
SpaceX ground control lost contact with the prototype vehicle about eight and a half minutes after takeoff from its launch site near Brownsville, Texas in the United States.
The vehicle, which was in its inaugural flight, carried 10 dummy satellites and was to complete a partial loop around the planet.
“Starship experienced rapid unscheduled disassembly during its ascent burn,” the company said in a post on X.
“Teams will continue to review data from today’s flight test to better understand the root cause. In tests like this, success comes from what we learn, and today’s flight will help us improve the reliability of Starship.
The mission was the seventh test flight of SpaceX’s Starship, which Musk envisions will one day carry people and cargo to Mars.
Earlier on Thursday, Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin successfully launched its New Glenn rocket into orbit for the first time, marking a milestone in the race for commercial space travel.
In a series of posts following the Blue Origin launch, Musk compared his relationship with his rival in the space industry to the dynamic between Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly’s characters in the 2008 comedy, Step Brothers.
