SpaceX Starship Reaches Orbit, Uncontrolled Re-entry in Ninth Test

SpaceX Starship Achieves Orbit, Ends in Uncontrolled Re-entry

SpaceX's Starship successfully reached orbit on Tuesday evening after separating from its Super Heavy booster. However, the spacecraft experienced a loss of attitude control, leading to a spin and uncontrolled re-entry into the Indian Ocean. SpaceX confirmed it had cleared the affected airspace prior to the re-entry.

Ninth Test Flight: Successes and Challenges

This ninth test flight marked both progress and setbacks for SpaceX. It was the smoothest Starship launch of the year, following two previous explosions. The launch utilized a flight-proven Super Heavy booster, previously used in Starship's seventh test flight. This marked the first time a reused booster was used for a Starship launch.

While the booster separation and orbital insertion were successful, Starship encountered issues. The spacecraft was unable to deploy mock satellites due to a malfunctioning cargo hatch. The subsequent loss of attitude control prevented a controlled re-entry.

Previous Starship Test Flights

This launch occurred less than a week after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) cleared SpaceX for the test following two earlier explosions. In January, SpaceX successfully caught the Super Heavy booster but the Starship experienced an anomaly in space and debris fell near Puerto Rico. In March, another test saw the booster caught successfully, but the Starship lost multiple engines and spiraled out of control.

Following these incidents, the FAA expanded hazard areas for Starship launches. SpaceX implemented hardware changes to improve reliability before this ninth test.

Despite the uncontrolled re-entry, reaching orbit represents a significant step forward for SpaceX's Starship program.