SpaceX launches Starship but fails to recover its booster
On the latest flight of SpaceX's Starship rocket system, the spacecraft reached orbit and deployed 26 satellites, but the booster exploded over the Gulf of Mexico. Recovery of the upper stage is planned for Saturday.
US space company SpaceX launched the latest flight of its Starship rocket system on Friday from its Starbase site in South Texas. The spacecraft reached orbit, but the booster rocket, which was meant to be recovered, was lost. The company, owned by tech billionaire Elon Musk, is working toward a fully reusable rocket system.
Instead of landing at the launch site, the booster diverted from its planned path to a designated area over the Gulf of Mexico, where it exploded above the sea surface. The reasons for the failed controlled landing were not immediately clear. SpaceX's Dan Huot said: "Not sure right now why we weren't able to bring it back."
What happens to the upper stage
The upper stage, which is the spacecraft itself, continued into orbit and soon began releasing 26 satellites for the company's Starlink network. It is scheduled to return to Earth on Saturday, when mechanical arms at the launch pad are to catch it on landing. It would be the first time this spacecraft returns to Earth, and it could potentially be reused in the future.
Why it matters
Starship stands 124 metres (407 feet) tall and consists of a spacecraft mounted on a booster. It is described as the world's largest and most powerful rocket system. Both stages were designed from the start to be fully reusable, which is key to SpaceX's aim of cutting the cost of spaceflight. In earlier launches the booster was successfully recovered, but the upper stages of all 14 previous Starship missions ended up in the ocean, either by design or because of failures.
SpaceX currently relies mostly on its smaller Falcon rockets, which are not fully reusable because the second stage cannot be recovered. Musk said he expects Starship launches once a week by early 2027. The programme has received billions of dollars in NASA funding, and SpaceX has invested at least $15 billion. Its main goal is to put astronauts on the Moon by 2028, although outstanding technical challenges could delay that timeline.
