SpaceX Starship Flight 9 Ends in Total Failure

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SpaceX's massive Starship rocket exploded during its ninth test flight, but still managed to break new records

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The 40-story tall rocket successfully lifted off from Texas on May 27, 2025, marking the first-ever reuse of a Super Heavy booster

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What went wrong? The Super Heavy booster shattered during its landing burn while testing a new high-angle descent technique

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Meanwhile, the upper stage reached space but fuel leaks caused it to spin uncontrollably and break apart over the Indian Ocean

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"We've essentially lost our attitude control with Starship," explained SpaceX's Dan Huot as mission control watched the spacecraft tumble.

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The payload door failed to open, preventing the deployment of eight dummy Starlink satellites - another key objective lost

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Elon Musk found silver linings: "Starship made it to the scheduled engine cutoff, so big improvement over last flight!"

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The failure didn't deter SpaceX's ambitious timeline - Musk plans three more flights in the next few months, one every 3-4 weeks

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SpaceX's manufacturing manager summed it up: "This is exactly the SpaceX way. We're going to learn, iterate, and iterate again"

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Despite setbacks, Starship remains crucial for NASA's plans to return astronauts to the Moon as part of the Artemis program

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[{"selector":"#anim-304472ef-1c35-4699-b08d-c462969f5259","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":400,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-a52b166a-1ba3-4dc1-9acb-9b2f8822473a","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, -114.48664%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":400,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] LandSpace Launches Zhuque-2E Y2 Methane Rocket With Six Satellites Learn more