Elon-led SpaceX reveals ninth flight errors

On Tuesday, SpaceX launched its Starship rocket to mark its ninth full test mission in Texas. The company revealed that the Starship reached space during the test flight but lost control. The company revealed that the Starship Flight 9 lost control because of a leak. 

Elon Musk’s SpaceX launched its ninth Starship Flight 9 on Tuesday from Starbase, Texas. The firm said the Starship rocket reached space but spun out of control. Elon Musk stated on X that the Starship flight lost control due to a leak that caused a pressure loss in the main tank. 

SpaceX says Starship initially performed well

Starship made it to the scheduled ship engine cutoff, so big improvement over last flight! Also, no significant loss of heat shield tiles during ascent.

Leaks caused loss of main tank pressure during the coast and re-entry phase. Lot of good data to review.

Launch cadence for…

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 28, 2025

SpaceX said the Super Heavy booster for the flight made the first-ever re-flight in the company’s Starship program. The firm explained that the booster had been used on the seventh flight test at the beginning of this year. According to SpaceX, the Super Heavy booster managed to perform a full-duration ascent burn with all thirty-three of its Raptor engines and disengaged from the Starship’s upper stage. While separating, the booster conducted the first flip, followed by a boostback burn.

The Elon Musk-led firm said the Super Heavy showed its ability to fly at a higher attack angle during its descent to Earth. The company explained that improving the amount of atmospheric drag on the flight vehicle and experiencing a higher angle of attack could lead to a slower descent pace. The firm added that the slower descent speed would require less propellant for the first landing burn. SpaceX stated that retrieving data on how the Super Heavy booster controlled its flight at that higher angle of attack would hugely contribute to better performance on future boosters.

SpaceX stated that after a successful stage separation, the upper stage of the Starship lit its six Raptor Engines and conducted a full-duration ascent burn. The firm revealed that the engines used on the Starship had mitigations in place, which were learned from the eighth flight test in March. SpaceX mentioned that the key improvements executed on the engines included additional preload on joint keys and a brand-new nitrogen purging system. The company added that it also mitigated the propellant drain system on all the engines. 

Elon-led SpaceX reveals ninth flight errors

The company said the payload bay door of the Starship failed to open, preventing the deployment of the planned Starlink simulator satellites. SpaceX confirmed that the flight experienced a subsequent attitude control error, which led to the bypassing of the engine relight. The firm added that the attitude control error also prevented the Starship from reaching its intended reentry position.  

SpaceX added that the Starship went through a saving process meant to vent the remaining pressure. The firm stated that venting the remaining pressure could have placed the Starship in the safest state for reentry. The Elon-led company revealed that it lost contact with the Starship after approximately 46 minutes into the ninth flight. 

The firm said the ninth flight test marked a great milestone for the firm. SpaceX added that it would be reviewing data from the ninth test flight. SpaceX also said that the ninth test flight would help it improve the reliability of its Starship. The firm said findings from the data review would be used to implement new improvements in the next Starship. The Elon-led firm revealed it had begun preparations for the next flight test. The company stated that it had learned lessons from the ninth flight test, which marked progress towards achieving Starship’s objective of ensuring life became multi-planetary.  

Elon Musk said the ninth flight improved greatly from the previous attempts. Musk added that the next three Starship test flights would be faster. The CEO said the next three flights would take place every 3 to 4 weeks. NASA has requested that SpaceX make huge changes to its Starship over the next year. The US agency said it would like to fulfill its goal of landing astronauts back on the moon.

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