SpaceX Loses Control of Starship During Ninth Test Flight
Billionaire Elon Musk’s private aerospace company, SpaceX, lost control of its ninth Starship test flight approximately 30 minutes after launch, according to Reuters. The uncrewed rocket, launched from Texas, experienced a fuel leak that led to uncontrollable spinning in space, prompting the spacecraft to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere earlier than planned.
In a post on social media, SpaceX confirmed that the vehicle underwent a “rapid unscheduled disassembly” — a term used by the company to describe the rocket breaking apart. Despite the setback, SpaceX emphasized the importance of data collected from the flight, stating: “With a test like this, success comes from what we learn. Today’s test will help improve Starship’s reliability as we work to make life multiplanetary.”
Before the malfunction, the 403-foot (123-meter) rocket reached a milestone by flying beyond the point where previous test launches had failed. This flight follows a March 6 incident, when another Starship exploded shortly after liftoff.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) temporarily diverted flights and halted departures at four Florida airports, including Miami International, as debris from the failed mission fell in the region. Musk, who has invested billions in Starship’s development, envisions it as a critical step toward colonizing Mars. SpaceX is also collaborating with NASA on missions to return humans to the Moon for the first time in over 50 years.
Due to their massive size and recurring failures, Starship test flights have scattered debris across the southern United States and the Caribbean multiple times. Adopting a “fail fast, learn fast” approach, SpaceX has carried out eight previous integrated test flights using its Super Heavy booster, with an even split between successes and explosions.
Despite the risks, the FAA recently expanded the airspace closure zone to 1,600 nautical miles (2,963 km) for Tuesday’s launch and increased SpaceX’s annual launch limit from five to 25 — asserting that the change would not significantly harm the environment, despite objections from conservation groups.
The test involved coordination with authorities in the UK, the British-controlled Turks and Caicos Islands, the Bahamas, Mexico, and Cuba, according to AFP.
Meanwhile, Musk’s close ties to the federal government have drawn scrutiny. In March, the Campaign Legal Center (CLC) filed an ethics complaint urging an investigation into potential conflicts of interest involving FAA business dealings with Musk’s Starlink satellite network. Musk, a key figure in former President Donald Trump’s second administration, has publicly claimed to be targeting “billions, hundreds of millions of dollars of fraud and abuse.”
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