Eighth launch of Starship rocket ends in explosion again — Video

SpaceX has conducted the eighth test flight of the Starship megarocket from the Starbase site in Texas. Seven minutes after launch, the first stage of the rocket, a giant super heavy booster, successfully returned to the pad, where it was caught by special mechanical "chopstick" arms of the launch tower, which cannot be said for the second stage of the rocket, which was the Starship spacecraft itself, according to Space.

What happened to the Starship spacecraft

According to the mission plan, the Starship was to launch four Starlink demonstration satellites and then make a controlled landing in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Australia about 50 minutes after launch. However, this plan failed.

A few minutes before the end of the engine shutdown, several of the Raptor's six engines failed, causing the ship to lose stability and begin spinning chaotically. Communication with the ship was lost at the ninth minute of the flight; it likely exploded in midair.

This outcome repeats the scenario of the previous, seventh Starship flight, which also ended in the loss of the ship at a similar stage.

"Obviously a lot to go through, a lot to dig through, and we're going to go right at it," said SpaceX spokesman Dan Huot during the live broadcast of the launch.

The wreckage of the spacecraft's upper stage was spotted over the Bahamas, where observers recorded a bright show of falling fragments.

Prior to this launch, SpaceX conducted a number of additional tests to avoid repeating the mistakes of the previous mission. Specifically, the company changed the design of the fuel systems, installing additional vents and a new nitrogen purge system to reduce the risk of fuel leaks.

SpaceX has also been testing new radar sensors that will help more accurately capture the ship on the pad in the future.

SpaceX continues to improve the Starship in hopes of making the rocket fully reusable and capable of multiple flights per day in the future. In total, the company plans to launch up to 25 rockets in 2025.

As a reminder, on Thursday, January 16, SpaceX's Starship megarocket exploded during a test launch. As a result of this incident, some airlines were forced to change their course to avoid being hit by the rocket debris.

We also wrote that Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX, plans to build his city of the future. It will be called Starbase, and artificial intelligence has already fantasized about what it might look like.