The Implications of SpaceX’s Second Starship Test Flight

Saturday’s launch again ended in the loss of both Starship stages, prompting another FAA mishap investigation and potential delays to NASA’s Artemis moon mission program.

Jack Daleo

Monday, November 20, 2023 at 03:04 PM ET

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SpaceX’s Starship rocket and Super Heavy booster take off from the Starbase launch pad in Boca Chica, Texas, on Saturday morning. [Courtesy: SpaceX]

Key Takeaways:

SpaceX's second Starship test flight successfully demonstrated "hot-stage separation" but ended with the loss of both the Super Heavy booster and the Starship upper stage due to in-flight anomalies.
The incident prompted another FAA "mishap investigation," grounding Starship until the investigation concludes and a new launch license is approved.
These repeated delays and investigations pose a significant challenge to NASA's Artemis program, which is dependent on Starship for future human lunar landings.

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The most powerful rocket ever built is grounded—again.

SpaceX’s massive Starship rocket and Super Heavy booster flew for the second time on Saturday, and the results were a mixed bag. Stage separation—the point at which the spaceship’s maiden voyage in April went off the rails—was a success. But like last time, both the rocket and booster exploded and were lost, prompting another mishap investigation by the FAA. Starship will not be able to fly again until the investigation and a launch license evaluation are concluded.