SpaceX’s Starship Test Flight Ends in Destruction
In related news, Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin achieved a milestone by successfully launching its New Glenn rocket into orbit for the first time.

SpaceX’s seventh test flight of its Starship spacecraft ended in destruction on Friday, January 17, 2025.
The launch, which took place from the company’s Boca Chica facility in Texas, involved the Super Heavy booster and aimed to test various upgrades, including engine restarts in space and satellite deployment techniques.
The Super Heavy booster launched with 33 Raptor engines, generating up to 16 million pounds of thrust. It successfully returned to the launch pad and was caught by mechanical arms after its ascent.
The Starship upper stage lost telemetry eight minutes and 27 seconds into the flight due to unexpected engine shutdowns, leading to what SpaceX described as a “rapid unscheduled disassembly” during ascent. Before losing communication, the spacecraft reached an altitude of 90 miles (146 km) and a speed of 13,245 mph (21,317 kph).
Elon Musk indicated that a fuel and oxygen leak caused pressure buildup above the engine firewall, which contributed to the rocket’s failure. SpaceX is currently reviewing data from the flight to understand the incident better.
Falling debris from the destroyed spacecraft caused temporary delays at Miami International and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International airports as flights were slowed and diverted.
Despite the failure, this test was crucial for SpaceX’s ongoing development of Starship for future lunar missions, as NASA has reserved Starships for such purposes later this decade.
In related news, Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin achieved a milestone by successfully launching its New Glenn rocket into orbit for the first time. However, similar to SpaceX’s experience, the booster failed to land on its designated platform in the Atlantic Ocean after launch