SpaceX launched its Starship rocket on its final test flight on Thursday, but the spacecraft was destroyed after a thrilling booster capture on the pad.

by Elon Musk The company said Starship broke down in what it called an “unscheduled rapid disassembly.” The spacecraft’s six engines appeared to shut down one by one during ascent, with contact lost just 8 1/2 minutes into flight.

The spacecraft, a new and improved model making its debut, was supposed to fly across the Gulf of Mexico from Texas in a close loop around the world similar to previous test flights. SpaceX had packed it with 10 simulated satellites to practice releasing them.

SpaceX’s Starship mega rocket launches for a test flight from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) (AP Photo/Eric Gay/Associated Press)

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One minute before the loss, SpaceX used the launch tower’s giant mechanical arms to grab the returning booster, a feat accomplished only once before. The descending thruster hovered over the launch pad before being picked up by the pair of arms called chopsticks.

The excitement of the catch quickly turned to disappointment not only for the company, but also for the crowds gathered along the southern tip of Texas.

“It was great to see a booster come down, but obviously we’re upset about the ship,” SpaceX spokesman Dan Huot said. “It’s a flight test. It’s an experimental vehicle,” he stressed.

The last data received from the spacecraft indicated an altitude of 90 miles (146 kilometers) and a speed of 13,245 mph (21,317 km/h).

SpaceX’s Starship mega rocket returns to the launch pad during a test flight from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) (AP Photo/Eric Gay/Associated Press)

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Musk said a preliminary analysis suggests the fuel leak may have built up pressure in a cavity above the engine’s firewall. Fire suppression will be added to the area, with increased ventilation and double checking for leaks, he said via X.

The 400-foot (123-meter) rocket had taken off in the afternoon from Boca Chica Beach, near the Mexican border. The late hour ensured an entry of daylight halfway across the world into the Indian Ocean. But the shiny, retro-looking spaceship never made it that far.

SpaceX had made improvements to the spacecraft for the latest demonstration and added a fleet of mock-up satellites. The test satellites were the same size as SpaceX’s Starlink the Internet satellites and, like the spaceship, were destined to be destroyed upon entry.

Musk plans to launch actual Starlinks on Starships before moving on to other satellites and eventually crews.

SpaceX’s Starship mega rocket returns to the launch pad during a test flight from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) (AP Photo/Eric Gay/Associated Press)

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It was the seventh test flight of the world’s largest and most powerful rocket. NASA has reserved a pair of starships to land astronauts on the Moon later this decade. Musk’s target is Mars.

Hours earlier in Florida, another billionaire rocket company: Jeff Bezos Blue origin — launched the new large rocket, New Glenn. The rocket reached orbit on its first flight, successfully placing an experimental satellite thousands of miles above Earth. But the first stage booster was destroyed, missing its intended landing on a floating platform in the Atlantic.