SpaceX loses Starship in space but captures booster in launch tower

SpaceX conducted the seventh flight test of its Starship rocket vehicle on Thursday, which the company called “the most capable” Starship yet — and the only fully reusable one.

It was a mixed bag for the aerospace giant as they successfully intercepted the first stage booster as it returned to Earth, but lost communication with the starship as it entered space.

The more than 400-foot rocket, powered by 33 Raptor engines, appeared to lift off successfully at 4:37 PM CT from SpaceX’s launch pad at its Starbase facility near Brownsville, Texas.

But minutes into the mission, ground control announced during a live stream of the mission that it had lost all communication with the ship.

The company said it lost several engines and telemetry and believes the ship is lost.

SpaceX added that the rocket used Thursday is a new version of Starship.

While the starship is lost, the superheavy first-stage booster successfully performed a controlled descent back to the launch tower, where it was captured by the launch tower’s giant robotic arms. This is considered one of the most challenging aspects of the mission.

Thursday’s feat marked the second time that SpaceX has been able to return and capture the stage booster using the launch tower.

Unlike the Falcon 9 rocket, which has been used for years to carry satellites and astronauts into orbit with a partially reusable design, SpaceX says the Starship will be fully reusable and will eventually include a heat shield that can be quickly repositioned without significant renovation.

SpaceX says Starship can carry larger payloads, such as satellites and cargo, than other launch vehicles and can support long-duration missions to the Moon and potentially Mars.

Additionally, the company says the launch system will eventually be able to carry up to 100 people on long-duration interplanetary flights.

SpaceX says the test flight introduced a redesigned upper stage with improvements such as an improved heat shield, increased propellant capacity and updated avionics.

The company says the updates will improve the vehicle’s reliability and enable longer and more complex missions.

During the mission, the spacecraft will attempt to deploy 10 Starlink satellite simulators for the first time, testing its ability to deliver payloads in space.

The simulators will be placed on a suborbital orbit, with splashdown planned in the Indian Ocean.

The mission will also include testing new materials and design changes to improve the spacecraft’s heat resistance during reentry.

The company said it intentionally removed heat tiles to test the vehicle’s heat resistance.

SpaceX says it will use the data from the test flight to refine the design for future missions.