Fri Jan 17 01:45:32 UTC 2025: ## SpaceX Starship Explodes on Test Flight Despite Successful Booster Landing
**BROWNSVILLE, TEXAS –** SpaceX’s ambitious Starship rocket suffered a catastrophic failure during its seventh test flight on Thursday, January 16, 2025. While the company successfully landed the booster using its innovative “chopstick” landing system – a feat only previously accomplished once – the spacecraft itself experienced a “rapid unscheduled disassembly,” according to SpaceX, exploding minutes after launch.
The 400-foot-tall rocket, carrying 10 dummy Starlink satellites for deployment practice, reached an altitude of 90 miles (146 kilometers) and a velocity of 13,245 mph (21,317 kph) before disintegrating. The six engines appeared to fail one by one during ascent, resulting in loss of contact 8 1/2 minutes into the flight. The spacecraft was designed for a near-global loop flight, but never reached its intended trajectory.
SpaceX spokesman Dan Huot acknowledged the disappointment, stating, “It’s a flight test. It’s an experimental vehicle,” while emphasizing the need for data analysis to determine the cause of the failure.
The spectacular launch and subsequent explosion drew large crowds to the southern tip of Texas, who witnessed both the successful booster landing and the devastating loss of the Starship. This setback comes despite significant upgrades to the spacecraft for this test flight, including the addition of the satellite mockups. Future plans for Starship involve launching actual Starlink satellites, other payloads, and eventually, human crews. NASA has already reserved Starships for future moon missions.
In contrast, Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin successfully launched its New Glenn rocket into orbit on the same day, although its first-stage booster was lost during the landing attempt.
First Piper 