SpaceX catches Starship booster a second time, loses ship to an ‘anomaly’ in space

SpaceX captured the Starship rocket’s Super Heavy Booster for the second time, after it launched the upper stage into space Thursday during the system’s seventh test flight. Shortly after the successful capture, SpaceX representatives reported that the company had lost contact with the spacecraft about eight and a half minutes into the flight.

The ship successfully separated from the booster and fired its own rocket engines to climb into orbit before some of the engines ejected. The company then saw its link to telemetry from the ship disappear, and minutes later SpaceX confirmed that the ship was damaged “with the upper stage” during the end of its ascent into space.

The company pulled off the first booster “catch” — which consists of an articulated weapon on the launch tower plucking the rocket’s stage out of the air as it uses the rocket to slow its descent — In October 2024. A second attempt to capture the booster was called off in November Due to communication problems.

The rocket SpaceX sent Thursday was upgraded in several ways compared to previous test flights. The company hoped to test different thermal tiles in the ship section, which protect it from re-entry forces. The launch tower was also equipped with radar sensors to more accurately locate the booster during the catch process.

This story is developing…