Space X’s seventh Starship test flight was ‘destroyed’ less than ten minutes after launch, as Elon Musk continues his quest to reach Mars.
The unmanned test flight was Musk’s latest attempt to make life on Mars a reality after his sixth test flight exploded less than ten minutes into the flight.
The next-generation ship was launched from Texas on Thursday and flew successfully for about eight minutes, with the teams’ second breathtaking booster catch, before contact was lost.
Officials confirmed that the spacecraft had been destroyed.
‘The spaceship was dismantled quickly and unplanned during ascent. Teams will continue to review data from today’s flight test to better understand the root cause,” SpaceX said posted on X:
“With a test like this, success comes from what we learn, and today’s flight will help us improve Starship’s reliability.”
Debris, with unclear relationships to the spacecraft, was captured on cameras flying through the Caribbean just minutes after the test flight.
“Every spaceship launch is one step closer to Mars,” Musk said before the launch, as he hopes his ships will be the first to bring humanity to life on Mars.
SpaceX posted on X that today’s test flight included “significant upgrades.”
The next-generation SpaceX ship launched from Texas on Thursday and flew successfully for about eight minutes, with the teams’ second breathtaking booster catch, before contact was lost

The new spaceship was deployed higher – now at 400 feet – and with approximately 300 tons more propellant than the last test flight ship, with additional upgrades for “reliability and performance”

“Every spaceship launch is one step closer to Mars,” Musk said before the launch, as he hopes his ships will be the first to bring humanity to life on Mars

Debris, with unclear relationships to the spacecraft, was captured on cameras flying through the Caribbean just minutes after the test flight
The new spaceship was deployed higher – now at 400 feet – and with about 300 tons more propellant than the last test flight ship, with additional upgrades for “reliability and performance.”
SpaceX announced that there would be “hardware upgrades to the launch and capture tower to increase booster capture reliability,” including improvements to the sensor protection on the chopsticks that were damaged during the last launch.
As well as a redesigned upper stage propulsion system that can carry 25 percent more propellant, along with slimmer, offset forward flaps to reduce heat exposure during reentry.
The company has also added 10 dummy satellites, the same size as SpaceX’s Starlink internet satellites, for launch into space. They would follow the same flight path as the spacecraft and be destroyed upon entry.
The post added that the flight was “intended to conduct Starship’s first payload deployment test, conduct multiple reentry experiments aimed at capturing and reusing ships, and launch and return the Super Heavy booster to steer.’
“Today’s flight test will launch a next-generation ship with significant upgrades, conduct Starship’s first payload deployment test, conduct multiple reentry experiments focused on ship capture and reuse, and launch and return the Super Heavy booster. ‘
SpaceX’s last successful launch took place in October during its fifth flight test. The sixth, attended by newly elected President Donald Trump in November, made a controlled landing in the Gulf of Mexico.
The test flight launched just after 5:30 a.m. EST in Texas, across the Gulf of Mexico.


About six and a half minutes into the flight, Super Heavy returned and was successfully caught by SpaceX’s launch tower for a second time

Although phase 1 was successful, contact with the ship is said to have been lost just after eight and a half minutes.

“With a test like this, success comes from what we learn, and today’s flight will help us improve Starship’s reliability,” SpaceX wrote on X
Only about 3 minutes into the flight, the Super Heavy booster successfully detached and performed a flip maneuver, heading back to the launch pad.
About six and a half minutes into the flight, Super Heavy returned and was successfully caught by the launch tower for a second time.
“Even today, what we just saw is magic,” Dan Huot noted from near the launch site after the booster landed. “I’m shaking right now.”
“The tower caught the missile!!” SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk said via X as the spacecraft made the dramatic landing.
Although phase 1 was successful, contact with the ship is said to have been lost just after eight and a half minutes.
Just after twenty minutes it was confirmed that the ship was lost.
Hours earlier, Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin launched their newest rocket, New Glenn, in Florida. The rocket reached orbit on its maiden flight and successfully placed an experimental satellite thousands of miles above Earth.
However, the booster was destroyed and missed the targeted landing on a floating platform in the Atlantic Ocean.