SpaceX announced the loss of its Starship spacecraft during its seventh test flight.
“We can confirm that we have lost the ship“, said the host of the launch broadcast, which was broadcast on X. He added that contact with the Starship's second stage was lost about 8.5 minutes after the start of the flight.
“Starship suffered a rapid, unplanned disintegration while gaining altitude. Our team will continue to review the data collected during today's flight to better understand the cause of the incident. Today's flight will help us improve the reliability of Starship“ the company said in X.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said the cause of the crash was a fuel leak.
“According to preliminary data, there was an oxygen or fuel leak in the cavity above the engine shield“, he wrote in X. Musk added that this incident is unlikely to lead to a postponement of the next test launch.
The seventh test flight program was significantly expanded compared to previous ones. SpaceX hoped to send a new generation prototype into low Earth orbit with significant improvements to the ship's design. The company removed some of the thermal insulation panels to check for weak spots in the Starship structure. It is also planned to launch 10 simulators of the Starlink communication system satellites into orbit.
Despite the loss of the ship, this time the company managed to catch the Super Heavy booster on its return to the special Mechazilla platform. During the previous launch, this was not possible; then the booster, having descended from a height of about 100 km, splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico.
According to the developer's plans, the Starship space system will be universal and can be used in various versions for manned flights to low-Earth orbit, launching satellites and carrying out missions to the Moon and Mars, as well as to more distant celestial bodies.
The reusable Super Heavy booster and Starship are designed to perform vertical landings on Earth. According to the current project, the total height of the space system is 121 m (ship - 50 m, booster - 71 m), diameter - 9 m, payload capacity - 100-150 tons.