Starship Flight 8: Booster Caught, Then the Ship Loses Engines

SpaceX's eighth Starship flight test lifted off from Starbase, Texas, at the top of its window, about 5:30 p.m. Central Time. The Super Heavy booster was caught back at the launch tower, but the ship lost engines shortly before the end of its ascent burn and contact with it was lost. No one was on board.

Liftoff and ascent

About 40 seconds into the flight, the webcast confirmed that 33 of 33 Raptor engines had ignited. The vehicle pitched downrange over the Gulf and passed Max Q, the point of maximum aerodynamic pressure, shortly after. The hosts also announced a go for the booster catch.

Hot staging and boost back

The ship's six engines ignited while it was still attached to the booster, and the clamps released. The booster commanded 13 engines for the boost back burn and got 11, and the team said it could still fly a full-duration burn and return with two Raptors out. The booster later dropped to three engines on the burn. The hot stage ring was jettisoned, since it was not needed for landing. The hosts said future Super Heavy boosters will incorporate the ring and bring it back.

The ship continued with six engines lit and was already over 100 km in altitude while the booster was at 87 km. The ship was due to coast for about 40 minutes after reaching orbit, up to an altitude of 214 km.

The booster catch

On the way back, the booster used four hypersonic grid fins to guide itself through atmospheric entry. The landing burn started with 13 engines and came down to three for the final precision flight into the tower. Twelve of 13 lit for the landing burn. A sonic boom was heard, and the booster settled into the chopstick arms. The webcast called it the third ever catch.

Loss of the ship

While the booster was being caught, the ship's six Raptors kept burning. Then several engines went out and the ship lost attitude control. The hosts explained that once enough of the center engines are lost, attitude control is lost, and the ship began to spin. Telemetry stopped, and the team said it was about 20 seconds from the end of the ascent burn. They said it was clear the rest of the mission would not continue.

The hosts noted that the same thing had happened on the previous flight. They said debris response areas were coordinated with air traffic control, and that those measures had worked last time and were active again. SpaceX said it would give updates on spacex.com and on X once it knew more.