SpaceX got the spacecraft’s booster going again but was hobbled by a faulty upper stage

It was a day of one step forward and one step back for SpaceX. Mechazilla Tower once again detected the incoming Starship booster in dramatic fashion, but the upper stage was lost due to an anomaly during ascent.

The spacecraft lifted off from the Boca Chica launch pad at 5:37 p.m. ET, soaring into the clear blue Texas sky. The 403-foot (123 m) rocket began the hot ramp process and cut off the booster engine shortly before the three-minute mark. The booster then began its descent back to Earth, while the upper stage continued its journey into space.

Flight controllers quickly gave the green light to pick up the booster, with the Super Heavy returning to the launch pad about seven minutes into the mission. The “micasella” launch tower, equipped with arms that resemble chopsticks, successfully captured the incoming booster. This is the second time SpaceX has captured the booster (it did so for… First time on October 13, 2024 during Starship’s fifth test flight), further validating the catch tower concept and providing a major vote of confidence that Starship will eventually become a fully reusable launch system.

Mechazilla got the super heavy booster! pic.twitter.com/aq91TloYzY

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) January 16, 2025

While the rocket succeeded in its mission, the same cannot be said for the upper stage. An unspecified anomaly led to the loss of the vehicle during ascent, preventing SpaceX from achieving several key mission objectives, including deploying mock Starlink satellites. The spacecraft failed just before the 12-minute mark, with its final measurement showing a speed of 13,246 miles per hour (21,317 kilometers per hour) and an altitude of 91 miles (146 kilometers).

The upper stage used in this mission – Spacecraft Flight Test VII – features an upgraded design. It is the first upper stage failure since the program’s early days of fully integrated spacecraft testing. The upper stage, with design tweaks, meant SpaceX was essentially dealing with a new type of vehicle, where systems interacted with each other for the first time. According to the SpaceX broadcast, “two engines shut down” before communications were lost with the vehicle, which apparently exploded.

SpaceX will likely reveal the reason for the failure in the coming days or weeks, but needless to say, the company will learn from this setback. This is what SpaceX does: treat failures as an incremental stepping stone to eventual success.

“The spacecraft experienced a rapid, unscheduled disassembly during its ascent burn. Teams will continue to review data from today’s flight testing to better understand the root cause,” the company explained in a statement. tweet. “With a test like this, success comes from what we learn, and today’s flight will help us improve the reliability of the spacecraft.”

Unconfirmed images showed the upper stage falling back to the ground, leaving bright, colorful streaks in its wake.

RUD of the century tbh. pic.twitter.com/XCbFxtO2wE

-A. Pettit (@PettitFrontier) January 16, 2025

SpaceX is making steady progress toward turning Starship into a fully operational launch system, getting closer with each test flight. Once operational, the rocket is expected to revolutionize access to space, launching large constellations of Starlink satellites along with payloads for paying customers. The huge payload capacity and lifting force could enable the design and deployment of spacecraft that were previously not possible to launch due to size and weight limitations; Powered by 33 Raptor engines, the spacecraft should be able to deliver 150 metric tons to low Earth orbit.

NASA, which invested in Starship as part of the Artemis program, plans to use the rocket’s upper stage as a human landing system for future lunar missions. Of course, Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, has much greater ambitions. He sees spacecraft as the key to colonizing Mars and turning humanity into a multi-planetary species.