SpaceX launched its fourth Starship prototype in less than four months March 30, only to have the vehicle apparently crash once again.
The Starship SN11 vehicle lifted off at approximately 9 a.m. Eastern from the company’s Boca Chica, Texas, test site, despite heavy fog that made it all but impossible to see the vehicle ascend. The SpaceX webcast of the flight relied on video from onboard cameras.
The flight appeared to go as planned initially, with the vehicle going up to 10 kilometers altitude, then descending back to the landing pad. The onboard video, though, stopped 5 minutes and 49 seconds after liftoff, just as the vehicle reignited its Raptor engines for landing.
It’s not clear exactly what happened, but the engine bay camera feed dropped soon after one of the Starship’s engines relit for the landing sequence, and parts from the destroyed vehicle fell on the landing site afterward.
Elon Musk noted that the second engine had problems during both the ascent and landing burn, but it theoretically wasn’t necessary. More details should come after SpaceX got a chance to examine the debris, the executive said.
It’s a potential setback for SpaceX. Earlier prototype flights were successful right up to the landing, and SN10 even stayed on the ground before exploding 10 minutes later due to fuel line breaks. SN11 didn’t even make it back to the ground a concern when flights are supposed to improve on past work.
This doesn’t represent a crisis for SpaceX. It’s building each new Starship prototype in three weeks or less, and its next version could be a more advanced model.
