SpaceX Starship booster lands in Gulf after failed double catch attempt

SpaceX launched Starship toward orbit Friday in its boldest test yet: a 22-hour flight that aimed to capture the entire rocket in a move meant to accelerate moon and Mars travel.

The first-stage booster malfunctioned and instead of returning to its Texas pad several minutes after liftoff, it ended up in the Gulf after an automatic abort. The giant booster exploded after landing in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Boca Chica Beach. Despite the setback, the bullet-shaped spacecraft continued toward orbit.

It was the first attempt to capture the upgraded version of the booster that stretches 236 feet (72 meters) — the production model for moon and Mars expeditions. It was also the first time the company attempted to catch the spacecraft, which spans 171 feet (52 meters). Together, they form the world’s biggest and most powerful rocket — an astounding 407 feet (124 meters) in height.

Once in orbit, Starship delivered 26 of the company’s most advanced Starlink satellites. The plan is for Starship to complete 15 laps around the world at an altitude of around 170 miles (275 kilometers) before heading back to the launch site for Saturday’s grand finale.

SpaceX had already made three booster grabs at the company’s sprawling Starbase near the U.S.-Mexico border. The original goal was to retrieve every single piece of the rocket for the purpose of future recycling, something yet to be achieved anywhere in the world.

SpaceX plans to start launching Starships from Florida within a few months and from Louisiana in a few years. Scaled-up infrastructure, combined with full rocket reusability, is “how you go from zero launches to 10 to 100 to 1,000 to 10,000 to 100,000,” SpaceX’s Kiko Dontchev, vice president of launch, said at a NASA tech summit last week at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center.

NASA is paying SpaceX billions of dollars to land Artemis astronauts on the moon with Starships. Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin is the other major player. NASA expects to decide a year before the Artemis IV lunar landing — the first by astronauts in more than half a century — whether to get the moonwalkers to the surface with Musk’s Starship or Bezos’ Blue Moon.

During next summer’s Artemis III mission, astronauts will practice docking their capsule with a Blue Moon and then a Starship in orbit around Earth. That will set the stage for an Artemis moon touchdown as early as 2028.

“We are looking forward to some of that on-orbit Starlink capability on Artemis III,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said via X after Starship reached orbit.

Sources

This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.