On March 6 local time, Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) conducted the eighth test flight of its next-generation heavy-lift rocket "Starship" in Texas. The rocket lifted off smoothly, and the first-stage booster was successfully recovered, but the second-stage spacecraft disintegrated suddenly during the ascent, leading to a loss of contact with the ground team, and the test was not completed as planned.
According to CNN, SpaceX issued a statement on social platform X saying: "Starship experienced a rapid unplanned disassembly during ascent and lost contact. The team will continue to review today's flight test data to better understand the root cause. Today's flight will help improve Starship's reliability and provide more lessons learned."
During the test flight, SpaceX's live broadcast showed that the first-stage booster separated as planned and was successfully "caught" mid-air by a mechanical arm on the launch tower. This technological breakthrough marks another advancement for SpaceX in the field of booster recovery. However, the second-stage spacecraft lost contact shortly after separating from the booster, and the live feed of the spacecraft was subsequently cut off.
Notably, this is the second consecutive test flight of the "Starship" experiencing a similar situation. On January 16 of this year, the "Starship" conducted its seventh test flight, similarly losing contact with the ground team shortly after liftoff, and the second-stage spacecraft experienced rapid disintegration during ascent.
The "Starship" is a heavy-lift rocket developed by SpaceX for future deep space exploration missions, seen as a key tool for manned moon landings and Mars exploration missions. Despite the technical challenges faced during the test flights, SpaceX has stated that each test will accumulate experience for future success and improve the system's reliability.
