SpaceX‘s Starship, the “future of space travel,” ended its seventh test flight with an enormous explosion over the Atlantic Ocean. The incident has not only raised concerns but also forced several commercial airlines to divert their flights, causing extensive disruption and chaos.
Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX, has been pushing the boundaries of space exploration since its inception in 2002. The Starship program, aimed at making space travel as routine as a trip to the grocery store, has seen its fair share of ups and downs. From the early days of the Falcon rocket to the more recent successes with the Falcon Heavy and Crew Dragon, SpaceX has always been a company that thrives on taking risks.
The seventh test flight of the Starship mega-rocket was supposed to be a milestone in SpaceX’s ambitious plans. The 403-foot-tall vehicle lifted off successfully from the Starbase site in South Texas, achieving stage separation and even managing to catch the first-stage booster with its “chopstick” arms. However, just eight minutes into the flight, SpaceX lost contact with the upper stage, known as Ship, which then exploded in a fiery display over the Atlantic.
The last time a Starship upper stage failed was in March last year when it was reentering Earth’s atmosphere over the Indian Ocean. However, it is rare for SpaceX mishaps to cause widespread disruptions to air traffic.
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The current incident forced airline flights over the Gulf of Mexico to change course to avoid falling debris and setting back Musk’s flagship rocket program. This mishap happened the same day Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin successfully launched its New Glenn rocket into orbit.
SpaceX mission control lost contact with the newly upgraded Starship, carrying a payload of mock satellites, but fortunately, there were no crew on board. The explosion occurred eight minutes after liftoff at 5:38 p.m. EST (2238 GMT).
Dan Huot, SpaceX Communications Manager, said, “We did lose all communications with the ship—essentially telling us we had an anomaly with the upper stage, confirming minutes after the ship was lost.
While SpaceX has always embraced the mantra of “fail fast, learn faster,” this latest incident has sparked a flurry of speculation and controversy. Critics argue that the company’s relentless pursuit of rapid development is reckless and endangers not only its own missions but also the safety of others. The forced diversion of commercial flights is a stark reminder of the potential risks involved.
