SpaceX launches seventh Starship in deployment test, prototype fails in space

The Manila Times

SpaceX launches seventh Starship in deployment test, prototype fails in space  A SpaceX Starship prototype fails in space on Jan. 16, 2025, minutes after launching from Texas, setting back the company's speedy rocket development efforts in a mission that is expected to debut a key satellite deployment demonstration. SpaceX's Starship system, a heavily upgraded version standing roughly 37 stories tall, lifted off from the company's Boca Chica, Texas, launch facilities at 5:38 p.m. EST (2238 GMT) in the company's seventh test mission, and first such test this year. The Starship upper stage, two meters (6.56 feet) taller than previous versions, was a "new generation ship with significant upgrades," SpaceX said in a mission description prior to the test. It was due to make a controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean roughly an hour after its launch from Texas. SpaceX has not seen a Starship second stage fail since its second test mission in March last year, when the rocket was reentering Earth's atmosphere and broke apart.  SPACEX / REUTERS  Subscribe to The Manila Times Channel - https://tmt.ph/YTSubscribe    Visit our website at https://www.manilatimes.net    Follow us:  Facebook - https://tmt.ph/facebook  Instagram - https://tmt.ph/instagram  Twitter - https://tmt.ph/twitter  DailyMotion - https://tmt.ph/dailymotion    Subscribe to our Digital Edition - https://tmt.ph/digital    Check out our Podcasts:  Spotify - https://tmt.ph/spotify  Apple Podcasts - https://tmt.ph/applepodcasts  Amazon Music - https://tmt.ph/amazonmusic  Deezer: https://tmt.ph/deezer  Tune In: https://tmt.ph/tunein   #TheManilaTimes #tmtnews #spacex #spacexlaunch

Transcript

00:00There are items that if we pass them, we're scrubbed for the day.

00:04One of the main ones, one of the main ones is that it's pretty much just under 11 million

00:10pounds of prop sitting on that thing right now.

00:13We can actually recycle in about 24 hours now.

00:16Again, a lot of ambitious things on the plate for Starship today.

00:19T minus two minutes.

00:21New ship, new year, a lot of upgrades, doing a lot of ambitious things in space this time,

00:26our first payload deploy.

00:28The folks on console are continuing to evaluate the launch commit criteria.

00:34T minus 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

00:43We have liftoff.

00:58Vehicle's pitching down range.

01:15Six ship engines getting ready to ignite.

01:18That's going to happen while we're still attached.

01:22That is incredible news.

01:25You just heard the call out for booster engine cutoff.

01:29Most engines cutoff down to those middle three.

01:40Looks like we have 12 of those 13 engines ignited.

01:44We're using the engines that actually gimbal.

01:49We're looking good for that so far.

01:50Some great views there from the ship of Earth.

01:54That looks incredible.

01:58In the meantime, you can see those grid fins there helping to control the vehicle and guide

02:06it back to its landing site.

02:10Booster FTS is safe.

02:11With that, we're going to hand it back.

02:13How's it going over there, Dan and Kate?

02:15How are you doing, Kate?

02:16Seeing that in person.

02:21Dan had to take that entire segment because I couldn't talk.

02:24That was incredible.

02:25There it is.

02:26We can see the booster coming back in now through the plume, at least it looks that

02:30way to us.

02:31It's incredible that it basically returns.

02:33It looks like a speeding, just like this silver flare, coming back to the, once again, we

02:40are standing by for attempting to catch the booster at the tower.

02:47This would be the second tower catch.

02:50Landing turn.

02:51Seeing 13 engines.

02:52Booster now hovering as it aligns with the tower for catch.

02:53Booster coming in.

02:54Get ready for that boom, Kate.

02:55Down to three engines.

02:56Booster heading for checkout.

02:57Make a go ahead and pop the booster.

02:58And for the second time, a second time.

02:59Booster heading for checkout.

03:00Booster heading for checkout.

03:01Booster heading for checkout.

03:02This is the same tower, the launch pad, where that booster took off from just seven and

03:28a half minutes ago.

03:32And we're going to have to wait a little bit longer for that booster to come back in.

03:41We did lose all communications with the ship.

03:44So I mean, that is essentially telling us that we had an anomaly with that upper stage.

03:51So we were just coming up to the end of that ascent burn for the ship when we stopped until

03:58or when we started to lose a couple of the engines.

04:03We saw those dropping out and then we did lose telemetry from the ship.

04:07So that means we didn't have contact with it.

04:09So at this point, we are assuming that the ship has been lost.

04:14As we were checking in on the status of the ship at this point in time, we can confirm

04:19that we did lose the ship.

04:21However, Starship, the total vehicle, did have an on-time liftoff at 4.37 p.m. Central

04:28Time from the launch pad just behind us at Starbase, Texas.

04:31Gorgeous ascent and successful stage separation.

04:35The booster pushed the ship off and the ship disconnected during that stage separation.

04:41The booster came back for a successful, the second-ever booster catch at the launch tower,

04:49which was pretty incredible to see.

04:51Yeah, it was great to see the booster come down, but we are obviously bummed out about ship.

04:56It looked like we lost contact with it a little under eight and a half minutes into flight.

05:00That's roughly when you start to get to that main engine cutoff.

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