The eighth test launch of SpaceX’s Starship ended with an explosion and a rain of fire in the sky — essentially the same as the previous seventh test flight. For SpaceX, this could indicate a fundamental problem with the new version of the ship that has proven impossible to fix with cosmetic changes.
Image source: @GeneDoctorB/X
Both explosions had a similar nature: a problem occurred in the core of the ship, which led to the engines shutting down, loss of control, and the launch of the self-destruction procedure. In both cases, a new, larger version of the Starship, Block 2, was launched, which, among other things, received larger fuel tanks.
After the ship exploded during the seventh test flight, its version for the eighth launch was slightly adjusted. In particular, the fuel line system, which had been destroyed during the seventh test and allowed a fuel leak, was strengthened. Also, holes for ventilation and a nitrogen pressurization system were provided in the aft section, which was supposed to eliminate the risk of fire from possible leaks.
SpaceX engineers believe that the ship’s systems resonated with the ship’s vibrations during launch and early in the flight. The resonance caused part of the fuel line to break and fuel to leak. The Starship assembled for the eighth test was tested on a vibration rig and deemed ready for flight, although it appears that the engineers miscalculated something.
Like the seventh Starship, the eighth exploded a few minutes after separating from the booster stage. The goals of the eighth test were basically the same as the seventh, which was canceled for technical reasons. The ship was supposed to go into space and try to restart the engines, as well as launch mass-dimensional mockups of the payload – four simulators of Starlink communications satellites. Then the simulators and the ship were supposed to fall into the Indian Ocean. It seems that now all this will fall on the shoulders of the ninth Starship, which will be ready for a test flight in four to six weeks, as the company admitted.
What makes Starship especially valuable is that it is a key element in NASA’s Artemis program to return humans to the moon. The ship is supposed to deliver a lander to the moon, but first it will have to be refueled in space – in Earth orbit, a new and untested operation. The company had previously planned to test refueling in space in 2025, although it now plans to do so only in 2026. But if something fundamentally goes wrong with the new version of the ship and an explosion occurs again, these dates could shift even further.
The Federal Aviation Administration has asked SpaceX to investigate both incidents. After all, exploding craft in the sky poses a direct threat to commercial aviation, and a number of flights have been canceled or diverted during fire shows caused by exploding craft in the sky.