Musk's Large Spaceship 'Self-Destructs' Mid-Air... Despite Repeated Failures, "Incredibly Successful"

SpaceX, Starship... Second Test Launch in 7 Months
Starship Mid-Air Explosion 8 Minutes After Liftoff Program Activated

SpaceX, the space company led by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, experienced a failure in the second Earth orbit test flight of its large spacecraft ‘Starship’ launched on the 18th (local time). However, it achieved a significant advancement by successfully separating the second-stage rocket, which was not accomplished during the first test launch in April.

Starship consists of the spacecraft Starship (second stage), which carries the payload, and the launch vehicle Super Heavy (first stage) system.

[Image source=AFP Yonhap News]

According to foreign media reports including the Associated Press, SpaceX launched the 120-meter-tall two-stage Starship rocket at 7:03 a.m. from the Starbase space launch facility on the Boca Chica beach in southern Texas, USA.

After launch, Starship ascended vertically, the Super Heavy rocket, which is the lower part of the second-stage rocket, separated, and it attempted to enter orbit by rising to an altitude of 90 km.

However, about eight minutes after launch, the Super Heavy rocket exploded over the Gulf of Mexico. Subsequently, communication with the second-stage Starship was lost near an altitude of 148 km, prompting SpaceX to activate the Starship mid-air explosion program eight minutes after liftoff to prevent accidents caused by a crash.

The original goal of the test flight was to reach an orbit at an altitude of 240 km, circle the Earth once, and splash down in the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii after 90 minutes. Although the orbital flight failed, the flight time was doubled and the flight altitude increased more than threefold compared to the first launch in April.

The separation of the first-stage Super Heavy booster and the second-stage Starship spacecraft.
[Photo by SpaceX]

SpaceX analyzed the cause of the launch failure as “the Super Heavy booster and spacecraft separated faster than planned.” However, it described the day as “incredibly successful.” Elon Musk, who watched the Starship launch at the site, also posted a message on his X (formerly Twitter) account saying, “Congratulations to the SpaceX team.”

Bill Nelson, Administrator of the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), encouraged on his X account, saying, “Spaceflight is a difficult adventure that requires a ‘can-do’ attitude and tremendous innovation,” and “Today’s test flight was a learning opportunity, and they can fly again.” He added, “NASA and SpaceX will take humans to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.”

SpaceX had originally planned to launch Starship on the 17th but postponed the launch by one day due to the replacement of some parts.

SpaceX is set to begin analyzing the cause of this test launch failure. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) stated it will oversee the accident investigation.

Starship spacecraft just before launch. [Photo by SpaceX]

Starship is the largest and most powerful space launch vehicle ever developed by humanity. It consists of the rocket called Super Heavy (first stage) and Starship (second stage), which also serves as the spacecraft. The combined height of the rocket (70 m) and spacecraft (50 m) is 120 meters, equivalent to a 40-story building. This is taller than the Statue of Liberty (93.5 m).

Thirty-three ‘Raptor engines’ powered by liquid methane fuel and liquid oxygen oxidizer are mounted on the Super Heavy. Starship carries six of these engines. The Raptor engines have twice the thrust of the Falcon 9’s ‘Merlin engines.’

During the first test launch in April, the explosive force of the 33 Raptor engines on the Super Heavy created a large crater beneath the launch pad, sending concrete chunks flying high into the air and causing significant damage to the surrounding area. Based on the analysis of the first launch failure in June, Musk announced that over 1,000 adjustments were made to Starship and Super Heavy.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.