Fuel Leak Triggers Third Starship Test Failure, Says Elon Musk
- SpaceX’s Starship explodes during its ninth test flight due to a fuel leak.
- The rocket reached orbit but failed to deploy test payloads and lost control on re-entry.
- Despite the failure, Elon Musk highlights progress and valuable data collected.
In another setback for SpaceX, the company’s Starship megarocket exploded during splashdown on its ninth test flight, with Founder Elon Musk attributing the failure to fuel leaks. The test, launched at 7:36 p.m. EDT (5:06 a.m. IST) from SpaceX’s Starbase in Texas, saw Starship reach orbit a milestone compared to previous attempts but ultimately ended in failure.
This marks the third consecutive failed test for the Starship program. The seventh and eighth flights, conducted earlier this year in January and March, also ended prematurely with the destruction of the spacecraft. While the latest test flew farther than its predecessors, issues persisted.
Approximately 30 minutes into the mission, SpaceX confirmed a fuel tank leak on the vehicle. The payload bay door failed to open, preventing the planned deployment of simulated Starlink satellites. As the spacecraft re-entered Earth’s atmosphere, the upper stage began spinning uncontrollably due to the leak.
The first-stage Super Heavy booster exploded shortly before splashdown. SpaceX reported losing contact with the booster just after it initiated the landing burn, resulting in what the company described as a 'rapid unscheduled disassembly' around six minutes post-launch.
“Leaks caused loss of main tank pressure during the coast and re-entry phase”, Musk stated on his social media platform X.
Despite the failure, Musk highlighted the progress made during this test. “Starship made it to the scheduled ship engine cutoff, so big improvement over the last flight! Also, no significant loss of heat shield tiles during ascent. Lot of good data to review”, he added.
Standing 403 feet (123 meters) tall, Starship and its Super Heavy booster form the most powerful rocket system ever built. The spacecraft is intended to carry astronauts for NASA’s Artemis 3 mission to the Moon, scheduled for 2026.
SpaceX confirmed that it will continue analyzing data from the test and prepare for the next flight in its ongoing development of the Starship program.
