Debris Falls In Planned Corridor, Some Flights Delayed

The eighth flight test of SpaceX’s Starship went much like the previous one, with the Super Heavy booster returning to be caught by the launch/catch tower at Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, but with the second stage experiencing a malfunction that caused it to explode 9 minutes and 30 seconds into the flight.

The second stage of the vehicle, referred to simply as Ship, followed its planned trajectory from stage separation until the anomaly, so all debris from the “rapid unscheduled disassembly” fell within the corridor of the pre-planned Debris Response Area over the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean.

The FAA said some flights were delayed out of Miami International and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International for up to 45 minutes, and departures out of Philadelphia International were delayed by about a half hour. The delays were caused by “space launch debris” according to the agency.

The FAA said in a statement, “During the event, the FAA activated the Debris Response Area and briefly slowed aircraft outside the area where space vehicle debris was falling or stopped aircraft at their departure location. Normal operations have resumed.”

The agency also said it is “requiring SpaceX to perform a mishap investigation into the loss of the Starship vehicle during launch operations on March 6.”

In a post on X shortly after the incident, SpaceX wrote, “During Starship’s ascent burn, the vehicle experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly and contact was lost. Our team immediately began coordination with safety officials to implement pre-planned contingency responses.”

SpaceX added that it will review the data to better understand what the root cause is, and added, “As always, success comes from what we learn, and today’s flight will offer additional lessons to improve Starship’s reliability.”

FMI:  www.spacex.com/