Elon Musk's Mars Explorer Explodes During 8th Test Flight
Mar 07, 2025
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The Starship, which was launched from Starbase, a space launch facility on Boca Chica Beach in southern Texas, at 5:30 p.m. on the 6th, smoothly separated the first-stage rocket booster and the second-stage spacecraft about three minutes after launch. Returning to the launch pad as scheduled, the first-stage booster landed on the air 'Chopsticks' arm' equipment of a ground-based launch tower called Mechazilla, but the second-stage spacecraft, which was flying in Earth's orbit toward the Indian Ocean, disappeared from the screen within minutes. The test flight, which was scheduled to last about an hour, ended early.
SpaceX said in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that "Starship lost communication after an unplanned rapid disintegration during upward combustion" Shortly after the Starship explosion, debris was seen pouring over Florida.
Starship also failed on its seventh test flight on January 16 when the spacecraft exploded in the air about eight and a half minutes after launch due to a fuel leak. Since then, SpaceX has attempted to test the Starship's eighth Earth orbit on the 3rd, but has suspended its launch with 40 seconds left before the countdown due to a gas problem.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
