
SpaceX lost communication with the Starship spacecraft mounted atop the booster after successfully catching its Super Heavy booster for the second time.
This unfortunate incident occurred during the Starship’s seventh test flight launched from Boca Chica, Texas on Friday.
According to SpaceX, the Starship spacecraft separated from the Super Heavy booster but experienced engine issues during its ascent phase, leading to a loss of communication.
"We are assuming that we have lost the ship," SpaceX’s Kate Tice stated during the stream.
Elon Musk’s aerospace company described the incident as a "rapid unscheduled disassembly" during the ascent burn, but the exact cause remained unknown.
During the test flight, Starship intended to deploy 10 Starlink "simulators" for the first time, which are mock satellites designed to test the deployment process.
However, due to the loss of the Starship spacecraft, this objective was not achieved. The company is currently reviewing the data to determine what went wrong.
The Starship spacecraft is designed to carry crew and cargo into orbit, while the Super Heavy booster is equipped with 33 SpaceX Raptor engines to propel the spacecraft into space. Notably, both components are reusable, making it a significant milestone for SpaceX.
Several witnesses on the islands of Turks and Caicos reported seeing re-entry debris from the Starship spacecraft and also shared videos on social media.