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Starship flight test 8
Upcoming eighth launch of SpaceX Starship

Starship flight test 8 was the eighth flight test of a SpaceX Starship launch vehicle. The launch tower successfully caught Booster 15; Ship 34 was destroyed before completing its planned flight, as during its initial burn four of the six engines experienced premature shutdowns that resulted in a loss of attitude control followed by a total loss of telemetry. The vehicle's breakup was observed from the Bahamas, Florida, Jamaica and the Turks and Caicos Islands. It was the second flight and second failure of a Block 2 ship.

SpaceX had previously aborted a launch attempt late into the count on March 3, 2025, with a second attempt lifting off on March 6, 2025 at 5:30:31 pm CST (23:30:31 UTC).

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Background

Vehicle testing ahead of launch

Booster 15 underwent cryogenic testing on December 29, 2024.5 Ship 34 was moved to Massey's test site on January 15, 2025, just before Flight 7, where it conducted cryogenic tests on January 17 and 18, 2025.6

On February 8, 2025, Booster 15 rolled to OLP-A for static fire testing,7 and the test was conducted the following day.8 On February 10, SpaceX rolled S34 to the Massey's test site for static fire testing.9 It conducted a long duration static fire (60 seconds) on February 11.1011 B15 was rolled to OLP-A on February 25, and S34 was rolled to OLP-A on March 2.12 They were stacked later that evening.13

Impact of flight test 7

Main article: Starship flight test 7 § Mission outcome

During Starship flight test 7 on January 16, 2025, initial data indicated that a fire broke out mid-flight, leading to the destruction of the vehicle.14 SpaceX suspects the fire was caused by an issue with the propellant system, that led to excess pressure in the cavity above the engine firewall.15

The FAA ordered SpaceX to perform a mishap investigation into the breakup, grounding Starship until the inquiry was complete.16 Elon Musk described the event as "barely a bump in the road," indicating that the issues would be resolved quickly. Musk suggested that a subsequent launch could occur the following month, depending on testing progress.17

On February 24, 2025, SpaceX announced that they had completed their mishap investigation into Flight 7.18 Subsequently on February 26, 2025, the FAA approved the launch license with modifications based on the results of the mishap investigation.19

Mission profile

AttemptPlannedResultTurnaroundReasonDecision pointWeather go (%)Notes
13 Mar 2025, 5:45:00 pmScrubbed—Technical3 Mar 2025, 5:54 pm ​(T−00:00:40 hold)65%Multiple undisclosed problems with first and second stages.
26 Mar 2025, 5:30:24 pmFailure2 days 23 hours 45 minutesTechnical6 Mar 2025, 5:39 pm ​(T+00:09:35)Failure of second stage engines resulted in loss of control and breakup of the vehicle.

The mission profile for flight test 8 was similar to the previous launch's plan, targeting a splashdown in the Indian Ocean and a catch of the booster. The ship was scheduled to deploy four intentionally destructible Starlink "simulators" which were also expected to reenter over the Indian Ocean.20

Flight timeline

TimeEventMarch 3, 2025March 6, 2025
−01:15:00Flight director conducts a poll and verifies go for propellant loadingGo for propellant loadingGo for propellant loading
−00:45:59Starship oxidizer (liquid oxygen) load startSuccessSuccess
−00:42:59Starship fuel (liquid methane) load startSuccessSuccess
−00:41:22Super Heavy fuel (liquid methane) load startSuccessSuccess
−00:35:35Super Heavy oxidizer (liquid oxygen) load startSuccessSuccess
−00:19:40Super Heavy and Starship engine chillSuccessSuccess
−00:03:20Starship propellant load completeSuccessSuccess
−00:02:50Super Heavy propellant load completeSuccessSuccess
−00:00:30Flight director verifies go for launchNo go, launch scrubbedGo for launch
−00:00:10Flame deflector activation—Success
−00:00:03Super Heavy engine ignition—Success
+00:00:02Liftoff—Success
+00:01:02Throttle down for max q during ascent (moment of peak mechanical stress on the rocket)—Success
+00:02:32Super Heavy most engines cutoff (MECO)—Success
+00:02:40Starship engine ignition and stage separation (hot-staging)—Success
+00:02:45Super Heavy boostback burn start—Partial failure8 out of 10 engines reignited
+00:03:30Super Heavy boostback burn shutdown—Success
+00:03:32Hot-stage jettison—Success
+00:06:37Super Heavy landing burn start—Partial failure12 out of 13 engines ignited
+00:06:57Super Heavy landing burn shutdown and catch—Success
+00:08:44Starship engine cutoff (SECO)—FailureEngines began to fail at T+08:04 and vehicle spun out of control, telemetry lost at T+09:35
+00:17:24Starlink simulator satellites deploy demo——
+00:37:28Raptor in-space relight demo——
+00:47:22Starship atmospheric reentry——
+01:03:05Starship is transonic——
+01:04:20Starship is subsonic——
+01:06:04Starship landing flip——
+01:06:06Starship landing burn——
+01:06:26Starship splashdown——
Source: SpaceX21

March 3, 2025, attempt

On March 3, 2025, Starship and Super Heavy began propellant loading, with SpaceX targeting a launch at 23:45 UTC (5:45 pm CST). However, after propellant loading, undisclosed issues arose with both vehicles and the count was held at T−40 seconds. SpaceX was able to resolve the issue and resume the countdown, flight computers detected additional problems, automatically resetting the count to T−40 seconds. After additional attempts at troubleshooting, flight controllers scrubbed (discontinued) the launch attempt.22

Launch

After the scrub of the launch attempt on March 3rd, Starship and Super Heavy launched from Starbase on March 6, with the booster completing its ascent burn nominally. Starship continued to ascend after stage separation from the booster, with the Super Heavy completing its boostback burn. The booster then descended and was caught by the chopstick arms on the launch pad. Starship continued its ascent burn, but 4 engines (1 RVac, 3 sea level Raptors) would start to shut down at T+8:04, roughly 30 seconds before the planned SECO. Starship lost attitude control, and SpaceX mission control confirmed that they lost contact with the ship. The ship was observed breaking up and reentering the atmosphere over Florida and the Bahamas several minutes after contact was lost.23

Similar to what happened in flight test 7, the FAA again ordered SpaceX to perform a mishap investigation into the breakup.24

References

  1. Chow, Denise (March 6, 2025). "SpaceX again loses its Starship rocket on test flight after explosion during previous attempt". NBC News. Retrieved March 6, 2025. https://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/spacex-loses-starship-rocket-test-flight-prior-explosion-rcna194923 ↩

  2. Wall, Mike (March 7, 2025). "Watch fiery SpaceX Starship Flight 8 debris rain down over The Bahamas (video)". Space.com. Retrieved March 7, 2025. https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/watch-fiery-spacex-starship-flight-8-debris-rain-down-over-the-bahamas-video ↩

  3. Wattles, Jackie (March 3, 2025). "SpaceX calls off attempt to launch Starship's 8th test flight". CNN. Retrieved March 4, 2025. https://www.cnn.com/science/live-news/spacex-starship-flight-8-launch-03-03-25/index.html ↩

  4. @SpaceX (March 3, 2025). "Standing down from today's flight test attempt. Starship team is determining the next best available opportunity to fly" (Tweet). Retrieved March 3, 2025 – via Twitter. https://x.com/SpaceX/status/1896710779761758449 ↩

  5. This Is How It Ends. That's Going To Do It. NASASpaceflight. December 31, 2024. Event occurs at 4:51. Retrieved January 1, 2025 – via YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1LYWzFnf3c&t=291s ↩

  6. Booster Catch, Ship Failure & The Path to Starship Flight 8. Starbase Update. NASASpaceflight. January 20, 2025. Event occurs at 4:21. Retrieved January 21, 2025 – via YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLMxpXP9FHc&t=261s ↩

  7. Booster 15 Ready For Testing Ahead of Starship Flight 8. NASASpaceflight. February 8, 2025. Event occurs at 10:39. Retrieved February 9, 2025 – via YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvx0XZGqSFI&t=639s ↩

  8. SpaceX Performs Testing with Booster 15 for Starship Flight 8. NASASpaceflight. February 9, 2025. Event occurs at 1:06:01. Retrieved February 9, 2025 – via YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AozAHAQTbGs&t=3961s ↩

  9. Starship Flight 8 Testing Begins With A 33 Engine Static Fire. NASASpaceflight. February 10, 2025. Event occurs at 4:15. Retrieved February 11, 2025 – via YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxIayuCj5d4&t=255s ↩

  10. SpaceX Performs Static Fire with Ship 34 for Starship Flight 8. NASASpaceflight. February 11, 2025. Event occurs at 1:17:10. Retrieved February 12, 2025 – via YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2ExgpezyuE&t=4630s ↩

  11. "New Year. New Ship. New Lessons". SpaceX. February 24, 2025. Retrieved February 25, 2025. https://www.spacex.com/updates/#flight-7-report ↩

  12. SpaceX Rolls Booster 15 Ahead of Flight 8. NASASpaceflight. February 24, 2025. Retrieved February 25, 2025 – via YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Arl6XbdwwE0 ↩

  13. The Stacking of Ship 34 and Booster 15 – Countdown to Launch. NASASpaceflight. March 2, 2025. Retrieved March 3, 2025 – via YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWLExMk0CMI ↩

  14. Clark, Stephen (January 17, 2025). "Fire destroys Starship on its seventh test flight, raining debris from space". Ars Technica. Retrieved January 28, 2025. https://arstechnica.com/space/2025/01/fire-destroys-starship-on-its-seventh-test-flight-raining-debris-from-space/ ↩

  15. Dunn, Marcia (January 16, 2025). "SpaceX Suspects Fire During Starship Flight 7 Linked to Pressure Issues". Associated Press. Retrieved January 18, 2025. https://apnews.com/article/spacex-starship-elon-musk-launch-accident-e69d04467e2def65d2bc6b0e9645d715 ↩

  16. "General Statements". Federal Aviation Administration. January 17, 2025. Retrieved January 17, 2025. https://www.faa.gov/newsroom/statements/general-statements ↩

  17. Smith, Jane (January 16, 2025). "SpaceX's Starship blew up. Elon Musk says it's 'barely a bump in the road.'". MarketWatch. Retrieved January 18, 2025. https://www.marketwatch.com/story/spacexs-starship-blew-up-elon-musk-says-its-barely-a-bump-in-the-road-20250116 ↩

  18. "New Year. New Ship. New Lessons". SpaceX. February 24, 2025. Retrieved February 25, 2025. https://www.spacex.com/updates/#flight-7-report ↩

  19. "Commercial Space Transportation License VOL 23-129 Rev. 5.2". FAA.gov. February 26, 2025. Retrieved February 27, 2025. https://drs.faa.gov/browse/excelExternalWindow/DRSDOCID173891218620231102140506.0001 ↩

  20. "Starship's Eighth Flight Test". SpaceX.com. February 27, 2025. Retrieved March 5, 2025. https://www.spacex.com/launches/mission/?missionId=starship-flight-8 ↩

  21. "Starship's Eighth Flight Test". SpaceX.com. February 27, 2025. Retrieved March 5, 2025. https://www.spacex.com/launches/mission/?missionId=starship-flight-8 ↩

  22. Wattles, Jackie (March 3, 2025). "SpaceX calls off attempt to launch Starship's 8th test flight". CNN. Retrieved March 4, 2025. https://www.cnn.com/science/live-news/spacex-starship-flight-8-launch-03-03-25/index.html ↩

  23. Wall, Mike (March 7, 2025). "Watch fiery SpaceX Starship Flight 8 debris rain down over The Bahamas (video)". Space.com. Retrieved March 7, 2025. https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/watch-fiery-spacex-starship-flight-8-debris-rain-down-over-the-bahamas-video ↩

  24. Pearlman, Robert Z. (March 8, 2025). "FAA investigating SpaceX Starship Flight 8 explosion that disrupted commercial flights". Space.com. Retrieved March 10, 2025. https://www.space.com/space-exploration/missions/faa-investigating-spacex-starship-flight-8-explosion-that-disrupted-commercial-flights ↩