Starship’s Flight 8 was expected to perform much better than it did. After the explosive ending of Flight 7, many thought SpaceX had figured out the problem and that this flight would be flawless. But that was not the case. Flight 8 also ended in an explosion. When such incidents happen, we all know how the FAA responds, often imposing strict measures on space companies over even minor incidents. Now, the FAA has released a statement regarding the Starship explosion, and we will break it down in this video. Before we get into the details, make sure to subscribe to our channel for future updates.
Flight 8 started as expected, with a smooth liftoff. The Super Heavy booster’s 33 Raptor engines fired up, and the vehicle cleared the launch pad without any issues. It passed through Max Q, the most stressful part of the ascent, with no problems. Everything looked normal.
Stage separation happened as planned. The hot-staging method worked, with the upper stage igniting its engines while detaching from the booster. Starship continued its climb, while the booster began its descent back to the launch site.
The booster executed its descent burn and reoriented itself for landing. SpaceX successfully caught the Super Heavy booster using Mechazilla’s robotic arms.
However, the upper stage was meanwhile experiencing problems. Shortly after separation, one of the vacuum engines failed, followed by issues with three sea-level engines. Shortly after, three sea-level engines lost thrust, creating an imbalance that made the vehicle unstable. Footage from the engine compartment showed small fires on two Raptor Vacuum engines, while the sea-level engines exhibited abnormal airflow behavior, suggesting a potential fuel or oxidizer leak.
This failure closely resembled what happened in Flight 7, where an engine anomaly led to the vehicle losing stability and breaking apart before reaching its intended trajectory. However, in Flight 7, the issue was primarily with Starship’s attitude control, which resulted in an aerodynamic failure at high altitude. In contrast, Flight 8’s failure originated within the propulsion system, causing a thrust imbalance that led to loss of control.