SpaceX Did Amazing Things Again During 7th Starship Launch, but Then There Was a Big Problem

Elon Musk has done some astonishing things with SpaceX, including being able to bring back a booster and catch it, in a pretty incredible feat.

He managed that again in a stunning display during the seventh flight test of the Starship unmanned mega-rocket from Starbase in South Texas, showing the first time wasn't a fluke. It had a successful lift-off, then separation of the upper and lower stage, with the lower stage making it back to Starbase to be caught by the tower.

Mechazilla has caught the Super Heavy booster! pic.twitter.com/aq91TloYzY
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) January 16, 2025

They refer to it as the "Chopsticks" catch.

We caught the rocket!! 🚀
pic.twitter.com/gVv34W9l2n pic.twitter.com/o0vA3XXi8L
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 16, 2025

That was the lower stage.

But the upper stage had a problem after the separation. They experienced what they termed a "rapid unscheduled disassembly."

Starship experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly during its ascent burn. Teams will continue to review data from today's flight test to better understand root cause.

With a test like this, success comes from what we learn, and today’s flight will help us improve Starship’s…
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) January 16, 2025

In non-nerd language, we would say it blew up. They said they were going to review the data to understand the root cause. It was supposed to make a controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean about an hour after launch, but that didn't happen.

Musk and others posted what happened. Not good that it exploded, but it was something to see. People who didn't know what it was were astounded. "Success is uncertain, but entertainment is guaranteed," Musk quipped.

Success is uncertain, but entertainment is guaranteed! ✨
pic.twitter.com/nn3PiP8XwG
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 16, 2025

The Federal Aviation Administration, which regulates private launch activities, said it had briefly slowed and diverted planes around the area where space debris was falling, but normal operations had since resumed. [....]
Musk said a preliminary assessment of the failure showed an internal leak of liquid oxygen fuel built up pressure and led to the rocket's breakup.'

Preliminary indication is that we had an oxygen/fuel leak in the cavity above the ship engine firewall that was large enough to build pressure in excess of the vent capacity.

Apart from obviously double-checking for leaks, we will add fire suppression to that volume and…
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 17, 2025

The FAA is likely to ground them for a while as they investigate to determine what happened.

But as CIA Director nominee John Ratcliffe said during his confirmation hearing, there's only one country that can parallel park a 200 foot rocket booster. And it isn't China or Russia.

It’s harder than it looks https://t.co/2KFcVkUC8o
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 17, 2025

We have developed some pretty unique abilities that may ultimately lead us to interplanetary travel. So, while there were problems with the upper stage, there's a lot to be thankful for and likely more successes to come.