SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft was successfully launched today at 16:25 Moscow time from SpaceX Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas. After separation of the first stage, SpaceX planned to demonstrate the operation of two systems – restarting the Starship Raptor engines and pumping cryogenic fuel. After that, Startship was supposed to be in the Indian Ocean. Unfortunately, after successful tests, contact with the ship was lost during landing and it crashed.

The launch, called Integrated Flight Test-3 (IFT-3), was the third test mission of a fully manned Starship. The first and second launches of the giant rocket were unsuccessful, but the data collected during these attempts helped SpaceX engineers prepare Starship for its current success. Improvements included Starship’s “hot” stage separation method, in which the upper stage engines were fired before the first stage booster, known as the Super Heavy, was fully separated.

The two Starship stages separated approximately 2 minutes and 45 seconds after liftoff, sending the 50-meter Starship into space, while the Super Heavy first stage began preparations to fire engines for orbit change and landing in the Gulf of Mexico. However, it appears that not all of the Super Heavy’s engines fired as planned, resulting in the loss of the thruster; During the broadcast, the stage was seen heading towards the water, but on its way down it rotated violently, leaving an engine running.

Starship successfully tested cryogenic fuel pumping during flight. After that, it began to descend and even showed plasma flows in the surrounding area, but at an altitude of 65 km contact with the ship was lost and after a while a message about its loss was received.

“We report that we have lost ship number 28. – said SpaceX representative Dan Huot (Dan Huot), indicating the number of the spaceship, after not being able to establish telemetry communication with the device for a long time. — We still had no word from the ship, so the crew declared it lost. So there will be no landing today“.

Despite the failed secondary flood, Starship’s flight could be considered a huge success for SpaceX. Almost all goals have been achieved, and the data obtained will allow engineers to correct deficiencies before the next launch.

SpaceX has bet big on its Starship reusable launch system, giving it a leading role in landing astronauts on NASA’s Artemis 3 mission in 2026. The company already sells private flights around the moon with Starship and sees Starship and Super Heavy as the backbone of its plan to explore Mars and deep space. Equally important is the possibility of using Starship to replenish the Starlink satellite constellation and other payloads.

It is planned to increase the number of launches from the SpaceX spaceport in Boca Chica. Equipment needed to build a second launch tower has already begun arriving at the site, and additional infrastructure to support spaceflight launches from NASA’s Florida space center is under development.

Starship spacecraft were designed with rapid reusability in mind. SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk said the company plans to eventually launch, land and restart multiple Starships every day.