Starship flight test 7. Starship flight test 7 was the seventh flight test of a SpaceX Starship launch vehicle. Flight 7 lifted off from Orbital Launch Pad A (OLP-A) on January 16, 2025, at  22:37:00UTC (4:37pmCST, local time) at the Starbase launch site in Texas. The prototype vehicles flown were Booster 14, a Block 1 vehicle, and Ship 33, the first Block 2 upper stage, which introduced upgrades in structure, avionics, and other systems. The mission was to follow a trajectory similar to the previous flight, with a planned splashdown in the Indian Ocean about an hour after liftoff, to be imaged by a NASA observation aircraft. It also tested a new Starlink satellite deployment system.

With the upgrade to a Block 2 design, Starship once again became the heaviest flying object ever built by humankind, at a weight of approximately  at liftoff, and the tallest rocket to lift off, succeeding the full Block 1 stack by about .

However, during Ship 33's initial burn, its engines experienced premature shutdowns, followed by a total loss of telemetry. The vehicle was observed exploding over the Turks and Caicos Islands, likely due to a fuel leak. This incident prompted regional airspace closures lasting over an hour and triggered an FAA-required mishap investigation. Booster 14 successfully returned to the launch site and was caught by the "chopstick" arms on the launch tower at OLP-A, making it the second booster recovered after Booster 12 during flight test 5.

Background

Vehicle testing ahead of launch 
Ship 33, a Block 2 Starship, flew on flight 7. In October 2024, Ship 33 underwent cryogenic testing. Its counterpart, Booster 14, also underwent cryogenic testing in October. Booster 14 rolled out to OLP-1 and conducted a successful spin prime test and static fire in early December. It then returned to the production site for final pre-flight modifications. Ship 33 also underwent a combination of spin prime and static fire tests later in the month. On January 10, S33 and B14 performed a wet dress rehearsal.

After having previously supported Booster 12 during flight 5, engine #314 was reflown on Booster 14.

NASA imaging of Starship 
For this launch, NASA planned to use a specially equipped Gulfstream V aircraft () to capture images of the Starship's re-entry and peak-heating. The aircraft was positioned to observe the spacecraft as it emerged over the horizon and splashed down in the eastern Indian Ocean in the early morning. The aircraft must fly with its exterior and interior lights extinguished to ensure optimal imaging conditions. This poses significant safety risks, requiring a waiver from aviation authorities and stringent procedures to prevent other aircraft from entering the flight path.

NASA requested an expedited waiver from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to commence practice flights over the Gulf of Mexico and Southwest Texas in early December. Subsequently, the aircraft was flown to Perth, Australia on January 3 for additional practice flights in the actual landing zone, ahead of the targeted Flight Test 7 on January 16, 2025. If the FAA approved the waiver, Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority had indicated its willingness to honor the exemption, allowing for both practice flights and the imaging flight during Flight Test 7.

Mission profile 
The mission profile for flight test 7 was expected to be similar to the previous launch, targeting a splashdown in the Indian Ocean. Had the mission successfully entered its intended transatmospheric Earth orbit, it would have attempted an in-space engine relight and deployed ten demisable Starlink "simulators," which were also expected to reenter over the Indian Ocean.

Flight timeline

Mission outcome 
At T+2:40 Ship 33 ignited all six Raptor engines and separated from Booster 14. B14 successfully returned to the launch site and was subsequently caught by the chopsticks on OLP-A, making it the second booster successfully recovered, following Booster 12 on Flight 5.

During the Ship's ascent burn, a series of cascading engine shutdowns occurred. The first engine failure occurred at T+7:39 when a center engine shut down, followed by the failure of a second center engine at T+8:02 and an adjacent outer Raptor Vacuum engine (RVac) at T+8:04. At T+8:18, another outer RVac shut down, and by T+8:24, the last gimbaling center engine had failed. Transmissions from the vehicle were lost at T+8:26, at an altitude of , 27 seconds before the planned engine shutdown.

Around three minutes later, Ship 33 exploded over the Turks and Caicos Islands, with the debris likely reentering over the ocean north of Puerto Rico and the British Virgin Islands, prompting airspace closures in the region for over an hour. The FAA ordered SpaceX to perform a mishap investigation into the breakup, grounding Starship until the inquiry was complete.

After the mission, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk stated that a propellant leak was the probable cause of Ship 33's failure: "Preliminary indications suggest an oxygen/fuel leak in the cavity above the ship engine firewall, which was substantial enough to build pressure beyond the venting capacity."

Notes

References 

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