SpaceX’s behemoth Starship rocket lifted off into the sky on its ninth test flight as another progression toward the company’s long-term vision of colonizing Mars.
Though the spacecraft exploded roughly 30 minutes into flight, SpaceX still considers the mission successful. The test follows two earlier attempts this year that crashed shortly after liftoff.
The launch was from SpaceX’s Starbase in Texas at 7:36 p.m. ET (1:36 a.m. CET Thursday night), and the mission is aiming for a controlled descent and splashdown in the Indian Ocean within 90 minutes.
Mid-Flight Disruptions
But the flight had technical issues on the mission. SpaceX subsequently confirmed that Starship had a fuel leak before it ultimately suffered what the company described as a “rapid unscheduled disassembly” — language it uses to define vehicle breakup.
“Teams will continue to examine the data and prepare for our next test flight,” SpaceX said in a statement.
Despite the outcome, this test took considerably longer than the first two, the most successful Starship launch attempt so far in 2024.
