Elon Musk’s SpaceX loses contact with Starship spacecraft during 8th flight test

New Delhi:  Elon Musk’s SpaceX lost contact with its spacecraft shortly after the launch of the eighth test flight of its giant Starship rocket on Friday.

The eighth test was launched at its Starbase site in South Texas at 6:30 p.m. EST on Thursday (5:00 am Friday IST).

About seven minutes after liftoff, Starship’s giant first-stage booster, known as Super Heavy was caught by the Starbase’s launch tower, using the structure’s “chopstick” arms, called “Mechazilla,” on the launch tower.

“Mechazilla has caught the Super Heavy booster!” Musk shared in a post on social media platform X. However, the Starship spacecraft lost altitude control and lost communication with the ground.

“Prior to the end of the ascent burn, an energetic event in the aft portion of Starship resulted in the loss of several Raptor engines. This, in turn, led to a loss of attitude control and ultimately a loss of communications with Starship,” SpaceX said in a blog post.

“Final contact with Starship came approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds after liftoff,” it added.

SpaceX had lost contact with Ship even during the Seventh test flight. The company noted that “Starship flew within a designated launch” and there is no harm to the “public both on the ground, on water, and in the air”.

It also initiated immediate coordination with the FAA, Air Traffic Control, and other safety officials to implement pre-planned contingency responses post the anomaly.

SpaceX added that “any surviving debris would have fallen within the pre-planned Debris Response Area”.

It also clarified that “there are no toxic materials present in the debris and no significant impacts expected to occur to marine species or water quality”.

“With a test like this, success comes from what we learn, and today’s flight will help us improve Starship’s reliability,” the company shared on X.

It also informed of plans for a “thorough investigation, in coordination with the FAA” and to “implement corrective actions” for future Starship flight tests.

–IANS