SpaceX’s Starship Flight 7 Explosion Caught In Detail In New Footage – Wccftech

New footage of SpaceX’s Starship upper stage’s explosion in Flight 7 shows the rocket erupting in a ball of flames before disintegrating into pieces. Starship Flight 7 took to the skies last month, and while SpaceX managed to catch the 232-feet-tall Super Heavy booster with the launch tower, the second stage spacecraft wasn’t so lucky as it exploded soon after stage separation. After the test, SpaceX shared that a fire in the aft, or bottom, section of the ship led to its explosion.Following the accident, the FAA confirmed that it was opening a mishap investigation into the test, with SpaceX’s Federal Communications Commission (FCC) filings showing that the earliest day for Flight 8 is February 24th.The upper-stage spacecraft that flew on Flight 7 was the first time SpaceX tested its new ship in a flight test. The ship came with several upgrades, including newer heat shield tiles, larger tanks and better computers for its propulsion and flight control systems. It separated successfully from the booster during flight and lit the six Raptor engines to boost itself into space during Flight 7.However, SpaceX lost communication with the ship eight and a half minutes into the flight. It took the firm longer to confirm that it had lost the ship itself. Soon after the test ended, footage on social media revealed bright debris streaks over the Caribbean which confirmed that the upper-stage had exploded in flight. SpaceX confirmed later that Starship underwent a ‘Rapid Unscheduled Disasssembly’ which is its technical term for an explosion.Now, fresh footage on social media shows the final moments of the upper stage ship from before the explosion to its aftermath. It shows the ship streaking across the sky before exploding in a ball of flames followed by debris. The Starship Flight 7 explosion created quite a bit of turmoil in the surrounding airspace, with the FAA having to divert flights in the area. The agency later confirmed that it was investigating reports of debris-induced damage, but so far, only one report of minor damage to a car has surfaced.The FAA is also working with SpaceX to conduct a Starship Flight 7 mishap investigation. Such investigations are typically a long-drawn process, but a SpaceX filing with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) shows that it could fly the next Starship stack a little over a month after Flight 8. The filing is for a communications license, and it lists February 24th as the start of the test window.Since the upper-stage in Flight 7 failed to meet most if not all of its test objectives, Flight 8 will be a repeat test attempt. Whether SpaceX will still aim to test the vehicle’s endurance to the limit or attempt complex operations such as an in-space Raptor ignition is uncertain. However, a successful soft splashdown of the ship could pave the way for a tower catch of the ship in the subsequent tests.New footage shows the moment Starship exploded during its seventh flight test. pic.twitter.com/DamOn6op9b— Salar Askari (@Salar__Askari) February 7, 2025Some posts on wccftech.com may contain affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC
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