SpaceX Starship Launched On 9th Test After Last 2 Blew Up, Spacecraft Breaks Apart Mid-Flight

SpaceX launched its mega rocket Starship on Tuesday evening, but fell short of the main objectives when the spacecraft tumbled out of control and broke apart.

The 403-foot (123-meter) rocket blasted off on its ninth demo from Starbase, SpaceX’s launch site at the southern tip of Texas. The liftoff came after CEO Elon Musk’s SpaceX hoped to release a series of mock satellites following liftoff, but that got nixed because the door failed to open all the way.

Moments later, the spacecraft began spinning as it skimmed space toward an uncontrolled landing in the Indian Ocean. SpaceX later confirmed that the spacecraft experienced “a rapid unscheduled disassembly” or burst apart.

In an X post, Musk also noted that it was a “big improvement” from the two previous demos, which ended in flaming debris over the Atlantic. This was the first time one of Musk’s Starships — intended for moon and Mars travel — flew with a recycled booster.

Contact with the booster was lost at one point, and it slammed into the Gulf of Mexico in pieces as the spacecraft continued toward the Indian Ocean. The previous two Starships never made it past the Caribbean. The demos earlier this year ended just minutes after liftoff, raining wreckage into the ocean.

No injuries or serious damage were reported, although airline travel was disrupted.

Besides taking corrective action and making upgrades, SpaceX modified the latest spacecraft’s thermal tiles and installed special catch fittings. This one was meant to sink in the Indian Ocean, but the company wanted to test the add-ons for capturing future versions back at the pad, just like the boosters, according to the Associated Press.