ISLAMABAD (PEN) : SpaceX’s ninth test flight of its Starship rocket ended in failure on Wednesday, as the uncrewed vehicle lost control and disintegrated roughly 30 minutes after liftoff.
The rocket, launched from SpaceX’s Boca Chica facility in Texas, suffered a fuel leak while in orbit, causing it to spin uncontrollably before breaking apart during re-entry, according to reports from U.S. media outlets.
SpaceX Confirms In-Flight Failure
In a statement posted on social media platform X, SpaceX confirmed the vehicle experienced a “rapid unscheduled disassembly,” the company’s term for a mission-ending malfunction.
“With a test like this, success comes from what we learn,” SpaceX stated. “Today’s test will help us improve Starship’s reliability as we seek to make life multiplanetary.”
Despite the failure, the rocket surpassed previous flight altitudes, offering some technical progress in SpaceX’s long-term vision of building a reusable spacecraft capable of transporting humans and cargo to the Moon and Mars.
FAA Confirms Debris Fallout, Temporarily Halts Flights
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed that it briefly halted departures at four major Florida airports, including Miami International, after reports emerged that debris from the failed launch was falling across the region.
In anticipation of potential risks, the FAA had already expanded its airspace closure zone to nearly 1,600 nautical miles east of the launch site. Coordination with aviation authorities in the UK, Mexico, Cuba, the Bahamas, and Turks and Caicos was also confirmed.
SpaceX’s Test Track Record and Environmental Concerns
This was the ninth integrated flight of the Starship atop its Super Heavy booster. Of the previous eight launches, four also ended in destruction. The last major failure occurred on March 6, when the rocket exploded shortly after takeoff.
SpaceX’s testing approach, often described as “fail fast, learn fast,” is central to CEO Elon Musk’s goal of accelerating interplanetary travel. However, the recurring failures have prompted criticism from environmental groups and raised safety concerns over debris dispersal.
Despite these incidents, the FAA recently expanded SpaceX’s annual launch allowance from five to 25 missions, stating that the environmental risks were within acceptable limits—a decision contested by conservation advocates.
Legal Scrutiny and Government Ties
The company’s growing collaboration with U.S. federal agencies, particularly NASA, continues to draw scrutiny. In March, the Campaign Legal Center (CLC) filed an ethics complaint questioning potential conflicts of interest in FAA dealings with Musk’s Starlink subsidiary.
Elon Musk, increasingly prominent in political circles, has maintained that his focus remains on eliminating waste and fraud in government contracting.
Starship’s Future in NASA’s Artemis Program
Despite recent setbacks, Starship remains a critical part of NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the Moon in the coming years. If proven successful, the rocket would become the most powerful launch vehicle ever developed, capable of transporting more payload than any rocket in history.
