NEXT SPACEFLIGHT

Status

Suborbital
Failure

Starship Flight Test 1

Launch Time
Thu Apr 20, 2023 13:33 UTC

First integrated launch of Starship and Super Heavy. With this launch, Starship became the most powerful rocket to ever launch.

After liftoff, the vehicle sustained fires from leaking propellant in the aft end of the Super Heavy booster, severing connection with the vehicle’s primary flight computer. This led to a loss of communications to most of the booster engines and eventually control of the vehicle. After the second stage failed to separate from the first stage, the vehicle reached an apogee of ~39km before tumbling downwards until the flight termination system was activated.

Unexpected severe damage was also imparted on the launch pad.

Rocket

Starship-Super Heavy (Prototype)
Image Credit: SpaceX
SpaceX
Status: Active
Liftoff Thrust: 74,432 kN
Stages: 2
Strap-ons: 0
Rocket Height: 121.0 m
Fairing Diameter: 9.0 m

Vehicles

Expendable

Ship 24

Flight #1
Expendable

Booster 7

Flight #1

Mission Details

Starship Flight Test 1

Starship attempted to perform an integrated flight test to demonstrate an orbital launch capability. Had the vehicle not failed earlier in flight, Starship would have reentered the atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean and had a splashdown 62 miles (100 km) northwest of Kauai.

Low Earth Orbit

Location

Orbital Launch Pad A, Starbase, Texas, USA

Stats

Starship

1st mission
1st mission of 2023
1st failed mission