On a Friday in November, the first stage of SpaceX's Starship, the most powerful rocket yet built, fell into the Gulf of Mexico and exploded, ending a bold plan to catch both halves of the vehicle at the Texas launch tower. Yet the upper spacecraft carried on, reaching orbit and releasing 26 Starlink satellites in a test that reaches toward the larger human ambition of reusable rockets for the Moon and Mars. It is a story of partial triumph, where a machine's failure and its success arrive together, and where the next chapter depends on whether that spacecraft can find its way home.
Starship reaches orbit and drops 26 Starlinks after its booster explodes, costing SpaceX a double catch
The booster never made it back to the tower.
Mark
So the booster exploded, but people are still calling this a milestone. Why?
Mimi
Because the spacecraft reached orbit and released 26 Starlink satellites. The upper stage is what tries to come back Saturday, and nobody has ever tried to catch one from orbit.
Luke
Worth saying what we don't know. SpaceX gave no explanation for the booster loss. We know it fell into the Gulf and exploded, not why.
Mark
It had caught three boosters before, right?
Mimi
Yes, at Starbase. That's why this one stung. It was also the first attempt with the upgraded 236-foot booster, the production model meant for Moon and Mars flights.
Luke
And the commentator tied the outcome to safety checks protecting the pad. That's her framing. It isn't a diagnosis of what failed.
Mark
What does Saturday actually involve?
Mimi
Fifteen laps at around 275 kilometres, then a return to the Texas pad, where arms on the tower try to grab it in midair. The flight could run up to 22 hours.
Luke
Note the wording, though: barring further trouble. The catch hasn't happened. Only the orbit and the satellite release have.
Mark
And NASA is watching closely?
Mimi
Billions are committed for Starship lunar landings, with Blue Origin as the rival. Isaacman said NASA looks forward to on-orbit Starlink capability on Artemis III.
Luke
Still, that's an expression of interest, not a decision. NASA says it will choose between Starship and Blue Moon a year before Artemis IV.
El Pulso
- The booster plunged into the Gulf of Mexico and exploded, shattering a planned double catch at the Texas pad.
- No cause has been given yet, leaving engineers and observers waiting for answers about what went wrong.
- The upper spacecraft reached orbit and deployed 26 Starlink satellites, a first for a recovery attempt on the ship itself.
- The spacecraft is circling Earth for up to 22 hours, aiming to steer back for a midair catch by mechanical arms on Saturday.
On a Friday in November, the first stage of SpaceX's Starship, the most powerful rocket yet built, fell into the Gulf of Mexico and exploded, ending a bold plan to catch both halves of the vehicle at the Texas launch tower. Yet the upper spacecraft carried on, reaching orbit and releasing 26 Starlink satellites in a test that reaches toward the larger human ambition of reusable rockets for the Moon and Mars. It is a story of partial triumph, where a machine's failure and its success arrive together, and where the next chapter depends on whether that spacecraft can find its way home.
The booster never made it back to the tower. On Friday, the first stage of SpaceX's Starship fell into the Gulf of Mexico and exploded, ending the company's attempt to recover both halves of its giant rocket at the Texas launch pad. The spacecraft on top kept going, however, and reached orbit in the most ambitious Starship test so far.
The miss was a surprise, since SpaceX had already caught three boosters at Starbase. No explanation has been offered for what went wrong, though SpaceX's launch commentator said the outcome was consistent with the strict safety checks meant to protect the pad.
After reaching orbit, the ship released 26 advanced Starlink satellites and began about 15 laps around the Earth. If all goes to plan, it will steer toward the tower on Saturday, where mechanical arms are meant to catch it from the air, a first for a spacecraft returning from orbit.
The larger goal is full reuse, something no one has yet achieved, and Elon Musk sees it as the path to frequent launches needed for lunar bases and Mars missions. NASA, which is paying SpaceX billions to land astronauts on the Moon, is watching closely, as is its rival Blue Origin. Saturday's attempt is the next thing to watch.
The booster never made it back to the tower. On Friday, the first stage of SpaceX's Starship fell into the Gulf of Mexico and exploded, ending the company's attempt to recover both halves of its giant rocket at the Texas launch pad. The spacecraft on top, however, kept going and reached orbit in what is the most ambitious Starship test so far.
Instead of flying back to the pad after liftoff, the booster had been diverted to a point offshore. No explanation was given for what went wrong. Kate Tice, a SpaceX launch commentator, said it was not the news the team had hoped to deliver, and added that the outcome was consistent with the many strict safety checks meant to protect the pad.
The miss was a surprise because SpaceX had already caught three boosters at Starbase, its sprawling site near the U.S.-Mexico border. This flight was also the first attempt to capture the upgraded booster, which stands 236 feet (72 meters) tall and is the production version intended for Moon and Mars missions. Stacked with the 171-foot (52-meter) spacecraft, the vehicle reaches 407 feet (124 meters), making it the biggest and most powerful rocket in the world.
Shortly after reaching orbit, Starship released 26 of the company's most advanced Starlink satellites. The plan is for it to make 15 laps around the Earth at an altitude of about 275 kilometres, then steer toward the launch site on Saturday. The flight could last as long as 22 hours. If nothing else goes wrong, it will be the first time Starship tries to return to the pad from orbit, where mechanical arms on the launch tower are meant to pluck it from the air.
The history here is rough. The spacecraft portion of all 14 previous Starships ended up in the ocean, either by design at the end of a flight or as flaming wreckage after a failure. On the first full-scale test flight in 2023, several engines failed to ignite and the tumbling rocket's self-destruct system was triggered. The most recent test, in September, was the first to reach orbit, but SpaceX made no effort to recover any stage.
The larger goal is to retrieve every piece of the rocket for reuse, something no one in the world has yet done. Elon Musk sees that as the route to the fast, steady launch rates needed to build moon bases and send people to Mars. Kiko Dontchev, SpaceX's vice president of launch, told a NASA tech summit at Kennedy Space Centre last week that scaled-up infrastructure plus full reusability is how you go from zero launches to 10, 100, 1,000, 10,000 and then 100,000. Ahead of Friday's launch he noted that the smaller Falcon rockets are still not fully reusable, since the second stage is thrown away every flight, whereas Starship is meant to have both stages caught.
SpaceX plans to begin launching Starships from Florida within a few months and from Louisiana in a few years. For now, Falcon rockets will keep flying from Cape Canaveral with astronauts bound for the International Space Station, and from California with Starlinks. Satellites will also keep riding Falcons, though Musk wants Starships to replace them eventually.
NASA has a stake in all of it. The agency is paying SpaceX billions of dollars to land Artemis astronauts on the Moon with Starships, while Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin is the other major contender with its Blue Moon lander. NASA expects to choose between them a year before the Artemis IV landing, the first by astronauts in more than half a century. On next summer's Artemis III mission, astronauts will practice docking their capsule with a Blue Moon and then a Starship in Earth orbit, setting up a lunar touchdown as early as 2028. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, posting on X after Starship reached orbit, said the agency looks forward to some of that on-orbit Starlink capability on Artemis III.
Saturday's attempt to bring the spacecraft back to the tower is the next thing to watch.
Citas Notables
Well, that certainly isn't the news that we had hoped to hear for today.— Kate Tice, SpaceX launch commentator
Starship, we're going to catch both the first stage and second stage.— Kiko Dontchev, SpaceX vice president of launch
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