SpaceX Starship Flight 9 Ends in Explosion
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – SpaceX's ninth Starship test flight ended in failure shortly after launch on May 27, but CEO Elon Musk and the company emphasized progress in the ongoing development of the powerful spacecraft.
SpaceX launched the Starship vehicle from its Starbase facility in Texas on Tuesday in a test aimed at deploying eight Starlink simulator satellites and assessing the performance of the spacecraft’s reentry system with 100 heat-shield tiles intentionally removed.
The launch and initial ascent were successful, but the spacecraft began spinning uncontrollably due to a fuel system leak, making the heat-shield test impossible.
Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, posted on X after the launch, stating, “Starship made it to the scheduled ship engine cutoff, so big improvement over last flight! Also, no significant loss of heat shield tiles during ascent.”
However, the booster stage was lost during reentry, and the payload door failed to open during the mission.
According to SpaceX, any surviving debris from the spacecraft is expected to fall into the Indian Ocean.
This is the third consecutive failure in the Starship flight test program and follows a previously aborted flight in April.
In a statement shared via X, SpaceX acknowledged the setback, writing, “With a test like this, success comes from what we learn, and today’s test will help us improve Starship’s reliability as SpaceX seeks to make life multiplanetary.”
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed it has been informed of the incident and is launching an investigation.
"The FAA is aware an anomaly occurred during the SpaceX Starship Flight 9 mission that launched on Tuesday, May 27, from Starbase, Texas, and is actively working with SpaceX on the event. There are no reports of public injury or damage to public property at this time," the FAA said in a statement.
SpaceX has not announced a date for the next flight but said it will continue refining the Starship system using data from this and previous tests.
“Developmental testing by definition is unpredictable,” the company stated on its website. “But by putting hardware in a flight environment as frequently as possible, we’re able to quickly learn and execute design changes as we seek to bring Starship online as a fully and rapidly reusable vehicle.”
SpaceX did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
