Elon Musk acknowledges the mission’s failure, posting on X that ‘success is uncertain, but fun is guaranteed’.
SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft broke down mid-flight, forcing airlines to divert flights to avoid falling debris.
While Elon Musk’s company successfully recreated its previous feat of capturing the first stage of the booster as it returned to Earth on Thursday, its next-generation unmanned spacecraft was lost.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) “briefly” slowed and diverted planes around the area where the debris fell, the aviation regulator said.
“Normal operations have resumed,” the spokesman said.
At least 20 flights changed their routes to avoid potential debris, according to flight-tracking website FlightRadar24, while footage emerged on social media showing parts of the vehicle re-entering the atmosphere over the Caribbean.
Musk said the spacecraft’s breakup appeared to be caused by an oxygen or fuel leak in a cavity above the ship’s engine firewall.
“Besides obviously double-checking leaks, we will add fire suppression to that volume and probably increase the ventilation space,” Musk said in a post on his social media platform X. “There is no indication at this time of moving the next launch beyond next month.”
Musk previously acknowledged the mission’s failure, releasing footage of falling debris.
“Success is uncertain, but fun is guaranteed!” he said.
SpaceX ground control lost contact with the prototype vehicle about eight and a half minutes after it lifted off from the launch site near Brownsville, Texas, in the United States.
The vehicle, which was on its inaugural flight, was carrying 10 dummy satellites and was to complete a partial orbit around the planet.
“Starship experienced a rapid unplanned disassembly during ascent,” the company said in a post on X.
“Teams will continue to review data from today’s flight test to better understand the root cause. With a test like this, success comes from what we learn, and today’s flight will help us improve Starship reliability.”
The mission was the seventh test flight of SpaceX’s Starship, which Musk envisions will one day carry people and cargo to Mars.
Earlier Thursday, Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin successfully launched its New Glenn rocket into orbit for the first time, marking a milestone in the race for commercial space travel.
In a series of X posts following the Blue Origin launch, Musk compared his relationship with his space industry rival to the dynamic between Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly’s characters in the 2008 comedy Step Brothers.
