SpaceX launches another Starship rocket after back-to-back explosions, but it tumbles out of control

By MARCIA DUNN Associated Press Aerospace Writer After back-to-back explosions SpaceX launched its mega rocket Starship again on Tuesday evening but fell short of the main objectives when the spacecraft tumbled out of control and broke apart The -foot rocket blasted off on its ninth demo from Starbase SpaceX s launch site at the southern tip of Texas Residents voted this month to organize as an official city CEO Elon Musk s SpaceX hoped to release a series of mock satellites following liftoff but that got nixed because the door failed to open all the way Then the spacecraft began spinning as it skimmed space toward an uncontrolled landing in the Indian Ocean SpaceX later certified that the spacecraft experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly or burst apart Teams will continue to review content and work toward our next flight test the company announced in an online message Musk noted in a post on X it was a big improvement from the two previous demos which ended in flaming debris over the Atlantic Despite the latest setback he promised a faster launch pace moving forward with a Starship soaring every three to four weeks for the next three flights It was the first time one of Musk s Starships intended for moon and Mars tour flew with a recycled booster There were no plans to catch the booster with giant chopsticks back at the launch pad with the company instead pushing it to its limits Contact with the booster was lost at one point and it slammed into the Gulf of Mexico in pieces as the spacecraft continued toward the Indian Ocean Then the spacecraft went out of control apparently due to fuel leaks Not looking great with a lot of our on-orbit objectives for currently mentioned SpaceX flight commentator Dan Huot The company had been looking to test the spacecraft s heat shield during a controlled reentry Communication ceased before the spacecraft came down and SpaceX ended its webcast soon afterward Related Articles Howie Carr Time to pound the pavement snowflakes At present in History May criminal charges filed in Liberty Reserve scheme US stops scheduling visa interviews for foreign students while it expands social media vetting Rick Derringer who had a hit with Hang On Sloopy and produced Weird Al dies at What is Manhattanhenge and when can you see it The previous two Starships never made it past the Caribbean The demos earlier this year ended just minutes after liftoff raining wreckage into the ocean No injuries or serious damage were broadcasted although airline tour was disrupted The Federal Aviation Administration last week cleared Starship for another flight expanding the hazard area and pushing the liftoff outside peak air voyage times Besides taking corrective action and making upgrades SpaceX modified the latest spacecraft s thermal tiles and installed special catch fittings This one was meant to sink in the Indian Ocean but the company needed to test the add-ons for capturing future versions back at the pad just like the boosters NASA demands SpaceX to make major strides over the next year with Starship the biggest and the bulk powerful rocket ever built in order to land astronauts back on the moon Next year s moonshot with four astronauts will fly around the moon but will not land That will happen in at the earliest and require a Starship to get two astronauts from lunar orbit to the surface and back off again The Associated Press Wellbeing and Science Department receives advocacy from the Howard Hughes Physiological Institute s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation The AP is solely responsible for all content