The flight, which lifted off on Wednesday morning Australian time, successfully reached space unlike the explosions of both the seventh and eighth test flights shortly after liftoff earlier this year, following hardware adjustments by SpaceX prior to the flight.
Following in-flight leaks, however, SpaceX lost control of Starship’s attitude after approximately half an hour, causing it to spin in orbit, and it broke up over the Indian Ocean as it re-entered Earth’s atmosphere; its payload doors had also failed to open in flight for a planned test deployment.
“As if the flight test was not exciting enough, Starship experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly. Teams will continue to review data and work toward our next flight test,” the company said in a statement on social media.
“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 most likely cause of Starship's loss of attitude control during flight 9 appears to be a propellant leak or engine failure in the upper stage, leading to a spin during reentry. X posts and prior flight data suggest a leak disrupted control, similar to issues in flights 7 and 8.
“Structural vibrations may also contribute, but propulsion problems are more likely based on current evidence. SpaceX’s official report is pending for confirmation.”
This was the first time Starship had reused its Super Heavy boosters, which had been on flight 7 in January and were planned for a “hard splashdown” in the Gulf of Mexico; however, the boosters broke up approximately six minutes and 20 seconds into the flight.
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Speaking on SpaceX’s launch webcast, communications team member Dan Huot said the Starship project is “impossibly hard”.
“You're not going to reach it in a straight line. We've said there's going to be bumps, there's going to be turns. But seeing that ship in space today was a hell of a moment for us, so congratulations to every single person who put time, effort, sweat, anything, into that rocket,” he said.
The previous explosions of SpaceX’s seventh and eighth Starship test flights had disrupted commercial aviation in the area due to hazards from falling debris.
Adam Thorn
Adam is a journalist who has worked for more than 40 prestigious media brands in the UK and Australia. Since 2005, his varied career has included stints as a reporter, copy editor, feature writer and editor for publications as diverse as Fleet Street newspaper The Sunday Times, fashion bible Jones, media and marketing website Mumbrella as well as lifestyle magazines such as GQ, Woman’s Weekly, Men’s Health and Loaded. He joined Momentum Media in early 2020 and currently writes for Australian Aviation and World of Aviation.
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