Starship | Eighth Flight Test

​On March 6, 2025, SpaceX conducted its eighth Starship flight test, marking a mix of achievements and setbacks in the company’s pursuit of fully reusable spaceflight systems. The launch commenced at 5:30 p.m. Central Time from SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Texas.

The Super Heavy booster executed its ascent burn as planned, propelling the Starship upper stage toward its intended trajectory. Following stage separation, the booster performed a boostback burn and descended back to the launch site. In a notable achievement, the booster was successfully “caught” by the launch tower’s mechanical arms, known as “chopsticks,” demonstrating SpaceX’s innovative approach to rapid booster recovery and turnaround.

Post-separation, the Starship upper stage, designated Ship 34, ignited its engines to continue the mission. However, approximately eight minutes into the flight, four of the six engines experienced premature shutdowns, leading to a loss of attitude control. Communication with the spacecraft was lost at T+9:35, and the vehicle’s breakup was subsequently observed over regions including Florida, Jamaica, and the Turks and Caicos Islands.

The primary objectives of this test included deploying four destructible Starlink satellite simulators and demonstrating in-space engine relight capabilities. Due to the in-flight anomaly, these objectives were not achieved. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has initiated an investigation into the incident, as is standard protocol for such anomalies.