SpaceX loses Starship during ninth test flight
28 May 2025 18:22
A prototype of SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft exploded over the Indian Ocean on Tuesday, ending the ninth test with another failure. This was reported by The Guardian, according to "Komersant Ukrainian".
The most powerful launch vehicle in history was launched from the SpaceX site in South Texas at 18:36 local time. However, the rocket’s first stage exploded during an attempted landing in the Gulf of Mexico, which was the first sign of a technical malfunction.
The second stage of the rocket – the Starship itself – also encountered problems: the doors did not open to deploy the Starlink test satellites. Soon, the vehicle began to lose control, rotated in flight, and eventually disintegrated during re-entry.
SpaceX traditionally described this as a “quick unplanned disassembly” and promised to take into account the mistakes. Elon Musk, the company’s founder, said that the pace of testing will only increase – the next three launches are planned to be carried out at intervals of three to four weeks.
However, Musk has not yet clarified whether the promise to conduct a live broadcast from Mars, as previously announced by the company, remains in force.
