SpaceX captures Starship booster for second time, loses craft to ‘anomaly’ in space

SpaceX held the Starship rocket’s Super Heavy booster for the second time after launching the upper stage into space on Thursday during the system’s seventh test flight. Shortly after the successful capture, SpaceX officials reported that the spacecraft was missing after losing contact about eight and a half minutes into takeoff.

Shortly after the booster was captured, SpaceX representatives said on the company’s live broadcast that they had lost contact with the spacecraft in space. The ship successfully separated from the booster and the company fired its rocket engines to climb into orbit before losing telemetry.

SpaceX representatives said during the live broadcast that there was an “upper stage anomaly” when the ascent ended. They later confirmed that the ship was missing.

The company took the first booster “grab” – which plucks the rocket stage from the air with articulated arms on the launch tower as it uses rockets to slow its descent – In October 2024. A second attempt to capture the booster was aborted in November due to communication problem.

The SpaceX rocket launched on Thursday was improved in many ways compared to previous test flights. The company hoped to test a number of different heat plates in the ship’s compartment that would protect it from re-entry forces. The launch tower is also equipped with radar sensors to more accurately locate the booster during the capture process.

This story is developing…