The return of the Starship turns into a disaster and ends in a shower of shooting stars

This was supposed to be the big debut of a whole new generation of upper tier. A “Starship block 2” (it bears the same name as the Starship rocket as a whole) benefiting from numerous improvements, both in design and avionics, without forgetting the capacity of the tanks or the electrical power supply.

Unfortunately, the baptism of fire of this new version of the upper stage turned into a disaster on January 16, 2025. It appears that the machine, initially leaving from the SpaceX test base in Texas, completely disintegrated during his journey. The vehicle was supposed to travel into space, re-enter the atmosphere and end up in the Indian Ocean.

The Starship turns into a shower of shooting stars

This loss of the Starship has been largely confirmed by the numerous videos and photographs that have been circulating on the Internet for several hours. In the images, we can see a shower of debris speeding through the upper atmosphere – the burning fragments of what remains of the Starship, which give the impression of witnessing a shower of shooting stars.

To those who followed the Starship’s seventh test, it was clear that there had quickly been a problem with the upper stage. If the test of recovery of the first stage by the launch tower was successful, SpaceX’s live video ended earlier than usual. The presenters then mentioned a loss of signal, nothing more.

A first official confirmation of the loss of the Starship arrived during the night from Thursday to Friday. “ The ship underwent rapid and unplanned disassembly during its ascent. Teams will continue to review data from today’s flight test to better understand the root causes of this incident “, wrote the SpaceX account.

In the jargon, SpaceX speaks of “unplanned rapid disassembly” to refer to the premature and involuntary destruction of a rocket. It’s a term regularly used by the American company when a test goes wrong, like here. The history of Starship development is punctuated by RUD (Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly).

These hasty destructions of rockets and vehicles are also SpaceX’s trademark: we launch, we test, we sometimes destroy, we improve and we start again. “ With a test like this, success comes from what we learn, and today’s flight will help us improve Starship’s reliability », Declares the company.

The trail of a leak in the Starship

One question remains: what could have caused the Starship to fail and lead to its loss?

The first elements were indicated overnight by Elon Musk. It would be a “ oxygen/fuel leak in cavity above Starship engine firewall “. This leak was large enough to create a pressure greater than the capacity of the vent “, he added. Investigations are ongoing.

At this stage, the Civil Aviation Administration in the United States, which regulates space activities across the Atlantic, does not yet appear to have reacted to this shower of debris. But the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will definitely look into what happened.

Attentive observers of space news are already talking “ from one of the worst moments of the Starship program », with airliners possibly forced to change their trajectory to avoid any risk. The prevailing feeling is that the Starship will not fly again anytime soon, while the investigation and the rocket are corrected.

An interruption that Elon Musk already seems to be considering, since he slips that “ there is currently nothing to suggest that the next launch will take place after next month “. But already, he is talking about the addition of a fire suppression system, an increase in the surface area of ​​the vent and, finally, increased checking for leaks.