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SpaceX Loses Starship Spacecraft on 7th Test Flight Despite Successful Booster Catch, New Upgraded Craft Carried Dummy Satellites

Jan 16, 2025, 11:45 PM

SpaceX's Starship rocket experienced a setback during its seventh test flight on Thursday, losing the spacecraft due to an anomaly during ascent. The launch took place from SpaceX's Starbase facility near Brownsville, Texas, at approximately 4:37 p.m. local time. The 400-foot rocket, powered by 33 Raptor engines producing 16.7 million pounds of thrust, aimed to advance SpaceX's capabilities for future lunar and Mars missions. Despite the loss of the spacecraft, SpaceX successfully caught the Super Heavy booster back at the launch pad in Boca Chica using giant mechanical arms, marking the second successful catch of the booster. The spacecraft, equipped with 6 engines, was carrying 10 dummy Starlink satellites for a deployment test, but communication was lost about 8.5 minutes into the flight when it reached an altitude of 91 miles and a speed of 13,246 mph, resulting in the spacecraft's destruction. The spacecraft was intended to soar across the Gulf of Mexico and target the Indian Ocean for a controlled but destructive end to the hourlong demo. This test flight was significant as it involved a new and upgraded version of the spacecraft, aimed at advancing SpaceX's capabilities for future lunar and Mars missions, with the system designed to be fully reusable.