Starship's Eighth Flight Test: Booster Caught for a Third Time, Ship Lost About Nine and a Half Minutes After Liftoff
On March 6, 2025, SpaceX flew the eighth flight test of Starship from Starbase in Cameron County, Texas. In its flight summary, SpaceX said Starship lifted off at 5:30 p.m. Central Time, with the Super Heavy booster lighting all 33 Raptor engines and completing a nominal first-stage ascent.
About two and a half minutes into the flight, the Super Heavy booster shut down all but three of its Raptor engines as planned for hot-staging separation, and the Starship ship lit its six Raptor engines and separated to continue its ascent. The booster then relit 11 of its 13 planned Raptor engines for a boostback burn toward the launch site; at the start of its landing burn it relit 12 of the planned 13 engines to slow down, with the three center engines maneuvering it to the launch and catch tower arms — the third successful catch of a Super Heavy booster.
The ship, however, did not complete the flight. SpaceX said Starship continued its ascent toward its planned trajectory, but before the end of the ascent burn an energetic event in the aft portion of the ship caused the loss of several Raptor engines, which led to a loss of attitude control and ultimately a loss of communications; final contact came approximately nine minutes and 30 seconds after liftoff.
SpaceX said Starship flew within a designated launch corridor to safeguard the public on the ground, on the water and in the air, and that after the anomaly its teams immediately began coordinating with the Federal Aviation Administration, air traffic control and other safety officials to implement pre-planned contingency responses. The company also published a debris-reporting channel: anyone who believes they have identified a piece of debris can contact local authorities or the SpaceX Debris Hotline at 1-866-623-0234 or [email protected].
The outcome mirrored the seventh flight test: the booster was caught by the launch tower again, while the ship was lost during ascent. Starship is SpaceX's reusable heavy-lift system, made up of the Super Heavy booster and the Starship upper stage, and catching the booster at the launch tower is part of its rapid-reuse approach.
(Source: SpaceX)
Source: SpaceX
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：2025年3月6日，星舰飞船Ship 34在升空段爆炸后于地球大气层上方形成的碎片云，由国际空间站拍摄（NASA，公共领域）。 / Image: The cloud of debris above Earth's atmosphere after Starship Ship 34 exploded during its ascent on March 6, 2025, photographed from the International Space Station (NASA, public domain).
