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After SpaceX's shocking loss of the upper stage Starship spacecraft during Flight 7 earlier today, CEO and chief engineer Elon Musk shared his first thoughts just moments back. SpaceX had high hopes for Flight 7, as not only did it plan to catch the 232-feet-tall Super Heavy booster with the launch tower, but it had also planned a litany of tests with the upper stage ship. However, while the tower catch was successful, the upper stage disintegrated before it could meet any flight objectives. Now, according to Musk, SpaceX already has improved versions of its rockets waiting for launch with entertainment always "guaranteed" during the tests.
SpaceX Has Improved Rockets In The Pipeline For Future Starship Tests
A key difference between SpaceX's Starship test program and other rocket development programs is that Starship operates on a hardware-rich model. As it flies one set of rockets on a test flight, SpaceX concurrently develops rockets for future flights as well. This was also the case with the ill-fated ship that flew on Flight 7 today, as SpaceX had already started to test the rocket while it was preparing for Flight 6.
Footage from local media shows that as it prepared for Flight 7, SpaceX had started to ship the ship likely to fly on Flight 8 to its Massey test site for cryogenic testing. Cryogenic testing evaluates the ship's tanks by filling them with propellant to ensure they can operate at the right temperature and pressure for launch.
In his first set of remarks after the Starship Flight 7 anomaly, Elon Musk commented that while success is not a guaranteed outcome of Starship tests, entertainment always is. SpaceX's Starship tests have been nothing short of exciting as it has gradually improved its performance over the course of the test program.
In another post, the executive shared that "Improved versions of the ship & booster already waiting for launch." SpaceX rapidly manufactures Starship vehicles at its Starbase facilities in Texas. The firm's Starfactory eventually aims to produce a rocket daily as part of its plans to utilize a Mars conjunction to launch as many ships as possible to establish a colony on the planet.
However, before it can proceed with its Mars missions, SpaceX is also contracted to land the first humans on the Moon with a custom upper-stage Starship variant for NASA's Human Landing System (HLS). As part of its NASA deliverables, the firm also has to demonstrate in-space ship refueling to build a propellant depot that will eventually load the HLS with fuel sufficient for a lunar journey.
As part of today's test, SpaceX planned to demonstrate another in-space engine reignition and launch dummy Starlink satellites. The firm had planned to stress test the rocket during reentry and evaluate its weak points and hardware for a potential tower catch. However, depending on the nature of the anomaly that led to the ship's failure, the next Starship flight could be delayed by months if the FAA opens a mishap investigation for Starship Flight 7.
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