SpaceX suffered a fiery setback Friday when its Starship booster crashed into the Gulf of Mexico, though the spacecraft successfully soared into orbit during its boldest test yet.
Flight controllers diverted the upgraded 236-foot booster offshore instead of returning it to the Texas launch pad, ruining Elon Musk’s hopes for an unprecedented double midair catch.
Despite losing the booster, the 171-foot spacecraft continued its journey and deployed 26 advanced Starlink satellites shortly after reaching orbit.
Starship will now complete 15 laps around Earth at an altitude of 275 kilometers before attempting a historic Saturday landing back into the launch tower’s mechanical arms.
SpaceX had previously caught three boosters at Starbase, making Friday’s failure surprising, though launch commentator Kate Tice noted the diversion followed rigorous safety checks to protect the pad.
This 407-foot mega-rocket represents the production model designed to eventually replace Falcon rockets and power rapid, reusable missions to build moon bases and colonize Mars.
SpaceX plans to expand Starship launches to Florida within months and Louisiana within a few years to achieve thousands of consistent flights.
Meanwhile, NASA is investing billions in Starship to land Artemis astronauts on the moon, competing directly against Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin for the upcoming Artemis IV lunar touchdown.
Astronauts will practice docking with both spacecraft in Earth’s orbit during next summer’s Artemis III mission, setting the stage for a lunar landing by 2028.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman praised the orbital milestone on X, expressing excitement about utilizing Starship’s on-orbit Starlink capabilities for future Artemis missions.
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