Minutes after taking off from SpaceX’s spaceport in Boca Chica, Texas, its second test flight of its Starship spacecraft, which it hopes will one day transport people to the moon and Mars, ended in an explosion. A Super Heavy rocket, the biggest rocket in the world, was used to launch the Starship shortly after 8 AMET.
The rocket’s first stage detonated just after the Super Heavy booster separated from Starship. However, the starship continued for a few more minutes, outpacing its predecessor’s flight time. Around the eighth minute, there was a faint explosion in the livestream, and hosts quickly confirmed they had lost contact with the craft.
Shortly after stage separation, the booster quickly and unexpectedly disassembled as Starship’s engines continued to fire for several minutes toward space.
November 18, 2023, SpaceX ( @SpaceX )
However, SpaceX continues to declare it a success, just like with the previous test that resulted in an explosion. It was” an incredibly successful day, even though we did have a RUD—or rapid unscheduled disassembly—of both the Super Heavy booster and the ship,” according to Kate Tice, one of the livestream’s hosts and quality engineering manager for SpaceX. We have a ton of information, which will all help us prepare for our upcoming flight.