On Friday, SpaceX conducted the 15th test flight of the giant Starship rocket. About six and a half minutes after launch, the super-heavy booster at the bottom of the rocket was to be picked up by the mechanical arms of the launch tower upon its return to Earth.
But an unknown problem prevented this section with mechanical arms. Because of this, the attempt to capture it was stopped and the booster was directed to land on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico in the state of Texas, where it exploded moments before hitting the surface of the water. The reason for this is still unknown.
The upper part of the rocket, continuing its way through space, placed 26 Starlink satellites in Earth orbit. This section should return to the ground after about 22 hours.
In three previous test flights, SpaceX was able to capture the starship's rocket booster using mechanical arms mounted on the launch tower. But it was the first attempt of this company to control both parts of the missile (booster and the upper part known as the ship).