Elon Musk’s SpaceX suffered a significant setback as it lost contact with its Starship rocket during the ninth flight test on Tuesday. The spacecraft reportedly spun out of control due to a fuel leak before re-entering Earth’s atmosphere and likely breaking apart over the Indian Ocean.
“Just to confirm, we did lose contact with the ship officially a couple of minutes ago. So that brings an end to the ninth flight test,” SpaceX spokesperson Dan Huot announced during a live broadcast.
Mission Objectives and Launch Details
The Starship Flight 9 launched from Starbase, Texas, at 5:00 am IST. Its goal was to demonstrate Starship’s ability to achieve orbit and return to Earth safely. The mission also aimed to test a controlled splashdown of the upper stage.
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Then it got worse.
A fuel leak sent Ship 35 into a crazy nose-to-tail spin during reentry.
No engine relight. No full heat shield test.
And at ~59 km above the Indian Ocean—it disintegrated. 💥 pic.twitter.com/hBRdnWO2eR— Natnael Ashebir (@natnael_ashebir) May 28, 2025
The rocket featured Super Heavy Booster 14 and Ship 35. This was the booster’s second flight, having previously flown during Flight 7. The upper stage carried eight simulated Starlink satellites to test satellite deployment capabilities.
Critical Failures: Payload Doors and Communication Loss
Although the Super Heavy booster successfully separated and began its return to Earth, SpaceX lost contact during its descent. It likely splashed into the sea instead of achieving a controlled landing.
Meanwhile, the Starship upper stage continued its trajectory and reached the planned suborbital path about nine minutes into the flight. However, the payload doors failed to open, preventing the release of the test satellites.
