SpaceX launches Spaceship over water: A test flight of Musk’s massive, multi-billion-dollar rocket over the Mexican Gulf of Mexico
Elon Musk’s giant, multi-billion-dollar mega rocket launched again from Texas on Tuesday evening for another test flight. This time, however, the rocket lost control of its altitude control due to a leak, making a controlled landing unlikely, SpaceX announcers said during the flight’s livestream.
Tuesday’s voyage comes after two spectacular failures earlier this year that saw the test vehicles explode high above the Caribbean, scattering debris and forcing aircraft in the region to scramble.
The rocket, known as Starship, is the largest ever built. The Super Heavy stage on this flight will use 33 powerful engines to propel us to the edge of space. Starship will then separate from Super Heavy and ignite its six engines. It will fly around earth for less than an hour, conducting numerous tests, including the launch of several dummy satellites. The spacecraft will then reenter Earth’s atmosphere and “land” in the southern Indian Ocean.
Super Heavy, meanwhile, will fly back and land in the Gulf. The landing will be less spectacular than previous test flights, where the booster has been caught by a pair of giant mechanical “chopsticks.” SpaceX says it’s conducting the landing over water because it wants to test whether the booster can successfully land without one of its three center engines igniting. The booster’s engine will be disabled to make sure it can make up for other engines on board.
Environmentalists object to the location of the launch pad near a state park and a wildlife refuge. Environmentalists have scrutinized the Starship launches. Records from the EPA and Texas Commission on Environmental Quality show that SpaceX violated the Clean Water Act by releasing tens of thousands of gallons of wastewater into the Texas environment. Last September, the agencies collectively fined Musk about $150,000 last September for the infractions. According to the report by the coastal bend bayes and estuaries program, the nest of vulnerable shorebirds has been destroyed as a result of SpaceX launches.
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“While the failure manifested at a similar point in the flight timeline as Starship’s seventh flight test, it is worth noting that the failures are distinctly different,” the company said in a statement after its investigation of the second incident.
A one-hour launch window opens at around 7:30 p.m. EDT tonight. SpaceX will begin broadcasting on its website and on X around 30 minutes before the launch.