A déjà vu moment took place at SpaceX’s Starbase Boca Chica facility as the company’s Starship Flight 8 mission ended prematurely. The second-stage Ship was lost after it exploded mid-flight.
This was the same case that happened during its Flight 7 where the main Ship did not make it to orbit and was lost as it was on its ascent towards the skies.
Like what happened in the previous test flight, SpaceX still saw a form of success as the first-stage Super Heavy Booster came back without any problems, and it was also caught by Mechazilla on its return.
SpaceX Starship Flight 8: Ship Explodes Yet Again As it Climbed
SpaceX took center stage in its eighth test flight for the Starship program, but things did not go as planned for the company as they yet again lost the Ship as it was climbing up the skies. According to SpaceX, the Ship experienced a “rapid unscheduled disassembly” (RUD) as it was ascending. In other words, the rocket exploded in mid-air.
Fans who witnessed the test launch shared how the Ship broke down to pieces after it blew up, and its debris lit up the night sky over Texas as it was lost along the way.
According to Space.com, the Ship faced a loss of multiple Raptor engines mid-flight, and it lost altitude along the way, causing it to explode into fiery debris.
It is known that SpaceX experienced the same issues on Flight 7 because of a propellant leak, but the company remedied it by adding vents and a purge system, but the changes did not do much for this test flight.
During Starship's ascent burn, the vehicle experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly and contact was lost. Our team immediately began coordination with safety officials to implement pre-planned contingency responses.
We will review the data from today's flight test to better…
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) March 7, 2025
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Super Heavy Safely Returns to Mechazilla’s Arms
However, there is one positive takeaway from this Flight 8 mission as SpaceX was able to perform another safe landing for the first-stage rocket, the Super Heavy Booster, as it was caught during its descent using the Mechazilla’s arms.
In the video that SpaceX shared, the company demonstrated another triumphant landing for the booster rocket, with it returning precisely to the catch tower’s arms, marking its third successful venture.
SpaceX and its Starship Program Development
Elon Musk’s SpaceX was on a roll last year, and their good fortunes lined up when it started with Flight 4’s success. This led the company to frequent the skies with its Mars-bound rocket until the last quarter of 2024.
Its Flight 5 was the most iconic one as the company did not see any mishaps for the mission and it was able to nail its first attempt to catch the Super Heavy Booster using Mechazilla’s chopstick-like arms.
The company was able to squeeze in one more test flight for the year, and it was with its sixth test flight that took place on November 20, which also ended successfully. The company received immediate approval for this as they used the same launch profile as Flight 5, but the only thing that they changed is the last-minute abortion of Super Heavy’s landing as it was not caught by the Mechazilla tower.
After the three successes of Starship, 2025 did not start off the way SpaceX expected it to as Flight 7 ended with the company losing the second-stage rocket as it exploded mid-air. The Super Heavy, however, remained safe.
Despite fixing the issues from the previous launch, the same outcome took place during Flight 8 as the Ship exploded as it climbed to the skies. The company, however, celebrates yet another safe return for the Super Heavy, demonstrating its reusability with Mechazilla.
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