SpaceX Starship test flight sizzles, then fizzles

After the first two test flights of the SpaceX Starship ended in fiery, self-destruct explosions just minutes after launch, the mammoth rocket made it to space on Thursday and flew considerably further than on previous attempts, though the craft broke apart about an hour into the mission before a hoped-for splashdown in the Indian Ocean.

The Starship spacecraft lifted off atop the Super Heavy booster at 7:25 a.m. MDT Thursday from SpaceX’s Boca Chica, Texas, launch facility. In addition to being unable to execute a controlled splashdown to end the mission, SpaceX also reported that a mechanical failure kept the private space company from successfully landing and recovering the booster stage of the rocket.

As is routine following flight plan failures, the Federal Aviation Administration announced it will conduct an investigation into the incidents.

“A mishap occurred during the SpaceX Starship OFT-3 mission that launched from Boca Chica, Texas, on March 14,” the FAA announcement reads. “The mishap involved both the Super Heavy booster and the Starship vehicle.

“No public injuries or public property damage have been reported. The FAA is overseeing the SpaceX-led mishap investigation to ensure the company complies with its FAA-approved mishap investigation plan and other regulatory requirements.”

Under development for years, SpaceX’s Starship system is comprised of the 164-foot-tall Starship spacecraft and the 226-foot-tall Super Heavy rocket booster. The massive booster is powered by 33 individual Raptor engines that, in unison, create nearly 17 million pounds of thrust. The methane-powered system dwarfs the current record held by NASA’s Space Launch System, which flew a successful test flight last November and can achieve almost 9 million pounds of thrust.

SpaceX describes Starship as “a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry both crew and cargo to Earth orbit, help humanity return to the moon, and travel to Mars and beyond.” As SpaceX does with its workhorse Falcon 9 rockets, the Starship system is designed for booster return and reuse capabilities.

Starship is capable of lifting as much as 250 tons into space and could accommodate 100 people on a potential trip to Mars, according to The Associated Press.

SpaceX has its own plans for putting the Starship to work once it becomes operational, ferrying satellites to low Earth orbit and potentially carrying paying passengers to space. But NASA is also vested in successful development of the giant rocket system, having struck a $2.9 billion deal with SpaceX in hopes of making Starship part of the Artemis moon mission. Starship’s upper stage spacecraft would be used to carry astronauts from lunar orbit to the surface of the moon but the NASA contract stipulates that SpaceX must first prove its abilities by performing a successful unmanned lunar landing.