SpaceX lost its Starship rocket due to a booster rocket fire during tests on Thursday.
The company reported a “rapid unplanned disassembly” of the spacecraft, which broke apart. Six engines shut down one after the other, and communication was lost 8.5 minutes after launch. The rocket was supposed to make nearly a circumnavigation flight, passing over the Gulf of Mexico.
SpaceX tried to catch it using mechanical levers, but this did not prevent the disaster. Elon Musk noted that a fuel leak could have caused a pressure increase and promised to improve the firefighting system. The Starship rocket was part of the seventh test flight of the world’s most powerful rocket, intended for missions including landing on the Moon and Mars.
