prototypes managed to make it off the landing pad and reach an altitude of about 40 km above sea level. Unfortunately, the SN24 failed to separate from the BN7 booster a few minutes into the flight, causing the vehicle to fall into an uncontrolled tumble and forcing the ground teams to detonate the onboard charges.
Things went better this time as the SN25 and BN9 prototypes took off at about 7:00 AM local time from the Starbase launch complex. The SN25 successfully separated from its booster two minutes and fifty seconds later – at an altitude of 70 km – and reached an altitude of about 148 kilometers , just shy of SpaceX’s goal of 150 km . However, the booster stage was lost about 30 seconds after separation, exploding over the Gulf of Mexico.
Another improvement over the previous test flight was that all 33 of the booster’s Raptor 2 engines ignited this time, whereas 31 ignited the last time. “The real topping on the cake today, that successful liftoff,” said SpaceX commentator John Insprucker. The successful separation of the Starship from the Super Heavy was another major success, as was the altitude achieved, just two kilometers shy of the goal of 150 km .
After the launch, the FAA released a statement about the test, saying that a “mishap” led to the loss of both the spacecraft and booster. “The anomaly resulted in a loss of the vehicle. No injuries or public property damage have been reported,” they said. They also reported that an investigation was underway to determine what went wrong, which is standard procedure whenever a spacecraft is lost.
On the downside, the booster and spacecraft were lost before the ground teams could attempt the all-important retrieval phase. This is vital for the “entirely reusable” Starship and Super Heavy launch system and Musk’s long-term vision for conducting regular flights to orbit, the Moon, and Mars. On the plus side, this test flight lasted twice as long as the first attempt, and the launch system managed to make it past the Karman Line: 100 km above sea level, the official boundary of “space.