SpaceX’s ninth Starship test flight ended in failure Tuesday, with both the Super Heavy booster and Starship upper stage destroyed.
The 122-meter rocket lifted off at 7:37 p.m. local time from Starbase. The Super Heavy booster failed during engine re-ignition for landing in the Gulf of Mexico, following a deliberately high-stress descent, according to Xinhua.
The upper stage of the Starship suffered a fuel tank leak, resulting in loss of attitude control. A cargo hatch also failed to open, hampering the deployment of test payloads. Mission control deactivated the vehicle, resulting in an uncontrolled reentry over the Indian Ocean.
This is the third consecutive loss of the Block 2 Starship upper stage, increasing concerns about NASA's Artemis program, which depends on a modified version for future Moon landings, Xinhua reported.
