SpaceX launches 21 Starlink satellites to orbit, loses Falcon 9 booster after landing (video)
SpaceX launched a batch of 21 Starlink internet satellites from Florida's Space Coast on Sunday night (March 2).
The Falcon 9 rocket flying the mission lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 9:24 p.m. ET (0224 GMT on March 3), carrying the Starlink 12-20 mission — which included 13 satellites with direct-to-cell capability — to low Earth orbit.
The Falcon 9's first stage returned to Earth a little more than eight minutes after liftoff. The booster, known by the designation B1086, touched down in the Atlantic Ocean on SpaceX's "Just Read the Instructions" droneship, about 250 miles (400 kilometers) off the coast of Florida. However, that booster was lost shortly after landing.
Booster 1086 missions:
GOES-U | Maxar 3 | 3 Starlink missions
"Following the successful landing, an off-nominal fire in the aft end of the rocket damaged one of the booster's landing legs, which resulted in it tipping over," SpaceX wrote in a mission description. "While disappointing to lose a rocket after a successful mission, the team will use the data to make Falcon even more reliable on ascent and landing."
This was the fifth and final launch for the B1086 booster, which flew three previous Starlink missions, as well as the GOES-U and Maxar 3 missions.
The Falcon 9's upper stage, meanwhile, continued its ascent to orbit, where it deployed the 21 Starlink satellites about 65 minutes after liftoff as planned.
The new batch of Starlinks adds to SpaceX's growing megaconstellation of space-based broadband satellites, designed to provide high-speed internet access across the globe.
This launch marked SpaceX's 26th Falcon 9 mission of 2025, of which 19 have been dedicated to the company's Starlink network. SpaceX currently has more than 7,000 operational Starlink satellites in low Earth orbit, according to a database created by astronomer Jonathan McDowell, who regularly tracks the Starlink constellation.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
29 minutes ago
- Yahoo
See a razor-thin crescent moon join Jupiter and Venus in the predawn sky on Aug. 20
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Look to the east in the hours preceding sunrise on Aug. 20 to see a thin crescent moon rendezvous with Venus and Jupiter to form a celestial triangle in the predawn sky. TOP TELESCOPE PICK Want to see the planets of the solar system for yourself? The Celestron NexStar 8SE is ideal for beginners wanting quality, reliable and quick views of celestial objects. For a more in-depth look at our Celestron NexStar 8SE review. The 9%-lit waning crescent moon can be found roughly 15 degrees above the eastern horizon an hour and a half before sunrise on Aug. 20, embedded in the twinkling stars of the constellation Gemini. Venus will be visible as a bright 'morning star' shining approximately 5 degrees to the lower right of the lunar disk, while Jupiter will sit less than 10 degrees to the upper right of the moon, forming the highest point of the cosmic triangle. Remember, the width of your fist held at arm's length accounts for roughly 10 degrees of night sky. The bright stars Castor and Pollux will be positioned to the left of the moon in the early morning hours of Aug. 19. Mercury, meanwhile, will be visible close to the horizon, but will swiftly become lost in the glare of the sun, which rises at 6:11 a.m. ET (1011 GMT) for viewers in New York. Viewing the cosmic trio with a 6-inch telescope will reveal the dark oval of the Grimaldi Basin impact site scarring the lunar surface, along with cloud bands on the surface of Jupiter, and the moon-like phases of Venus, under good atmospheric conditions. The coming nights will see the wafer-thin lunar crescent sweep past Venus to join Mercury and the Beehive open star cluster in the constellation Cancer, the crab, ahead of its new moon phase on Aug. 23. Stargazers looking for new equipment with which to explore the night sky should check out our roundups of the best telescopes and binoculars available in 2025. Photographers should also read up on our roundups of the best lenses and cameras for astrophotography. Editor's Note: If you capture a picture of the crescent moon with Jupiter and Venus and want to share it with readers, then please send your photo(s), comments, name and location to spacephotos@
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Why does Starship keep exploding? SpaceX report sheds light on 2 recent mishaps
Following a successful year for Starship in 2024, SpaceX has endured a series of relative disappointments for the world's largest rocket in 2025. Starship's first three test flights of the year, from January through May, all ended with the spacecraft exploding in dramatic fashion while traveling through the air. Those setbacks were followed in June by the fiery destruction of another Starship vehicle as the commercial rocket company founded by billionaire Elon Musk readied it for ground testing at its South Texas facility. These failures followed on the heels of a year of firsts, when SpaceX launched Starship four times and achieved new milestones each flight. These accomplishments included flying three consecutive times halfway around the world before splashing down as planned in the Indian Ocean, and, in October, the first of three successful returns of the Super Heavy rocket booster to the launch pad. But what might appear as letdowns are still learning experiences that SpaceX has long insisted can provide data on how to improve a spacecraft that will have a crucial role in the future of U.S. spaceflight. Still, that doesn't mean SpaceX isn't obligated to figure out what went wrong. "Every lesson learned, through both flight and ground testing, continues to feed directly into designs for the next generation of Starship and Super Heavy," SpaceX said in August on its website in revealing the findings of its investigations into the last two fiery mishaps. Here's everything to know about SpaceX's report on Starship "flight 9" on May 27 and the June 18 destruction of another upper stage vehicle, as well as how the company is making changes ahead of "flight 10." Commercial spaceflight: How Trump's commercial spaceflight executive order could benefit SpaceX, Elon Musk When is the next Starship launch? SpaceX plans to conduct the 10th flight test of its Starship spacecraft Sunday, Aug. 24, with a target liftoff time of 7:30 p.m. ET. SpaceX conducts Starship test flights from the company's Starbase headquarters in South Texas, located about 23 miles from Brownsville near the U.S.-Mexico border. Texas voters in Cameron County approved a measure in May for Starbase to become a city, complete with a mayor and a city council. What happened when Starship exploded? Starship's upcoming flight test was previously delayed June 18 when the Starship vehicle SpaceX assigned to the next flight, designated Ship 36, unexpectedly exploded while SpaceX was preparing it for launch. No one was hurt in the incident, which occurred as the Starship spacecraft was standing alone on the test stand being filled with cryogenic propellants for an engine test-firing prior to being mounted on top of the rocket booster. The mishap, which SpaceX later referred to on its website as "a sudden energetic event," completely destroyed the spacecraft and ignited several fires that caused damage in the area surrounding the test stand. The explosion was the latest fiery mishap SpaceX's Starship has encountered during – and, now, prior to – its flight tests in 2025. Starship's most recent demonstration came May 27 when the spacecraft spun out of control roughly halfway through its flight and disintegrated in a fireball. Though Starship was unable to achieve its most important objectives, the distance the vehicle traveled far surpassed the previous 2025 flights in January and March, when Starship exploded within minutes. Why does Starship keep exploding? SpaceX releases report SpaceX had previously released findings into the first two Starship explosions in January and March. Now, the company has unveiled the results of investigations for the two most recent mishaps, as required by the Federal Aviation Administration, which licenses commercial rocket launches. The May 27 mission got off to a positive start, with the successful first-ever launch of a rocket booster – known as Super Heavy – that had flown during a previous flight in January. Reusing a booster was an important milestone for SpaceX to demonstrate that the rocket can be flown multiple times. But rather than making a controlled splashdown as planned, the booster came apart in the air and plummeted into the Gulf of Mexico, which the U.S. government has renamed as the Gulf of America. SpaceX attributed the crash to a structural failure to the booster's fuel transfer tube, which resulted in methane and liquid oxygen mixing and igniting. The vehicle's upper stage – known simply as Starship, or Ship – managed to separate from the booster and fire its six Raptor engines to propel itself on a trajectory taking it into suborbital space as it soared around the world. But contact with Starship was lost approximately 46 minutes into the flight as it spun out of control and once again came apart over the Indian Ocean. SpaceX traced the failure to the main fuel tank pressurization system diffuser, located on the forward dome of Starship's primary methane tank. Other issues with the nosecone prevented Starship from deploying eight test Starlink satellites. As for the June explosion, SpaceX said it was caused by undetected damage to a high-pressure nitrogen storage tank inside Starship's payload bay section, called a composite overwrapped pressure vessel (COPV.) In a statement, the FAA said it "oversaw and accepted" SpaceX's findings and gave it the greenlight to proceed with its next Starship launch. "SpaceX identified corrective actions to prevent a reoccurrence of the event," the FAA said. What is Starship? SpaceX rocket to fly to moon, Mars But when it comes to Starship's development, SpaceX has become known for its risk-tolerant philosophy. Musk has stressed that rapid and frequent testing that sometimes leads to explosive ends can still provide data that helps engineers improve the vehicle's design. SpaceX is developing Starship to be a fully reusable transportation system, meaning both the rocket and vehicle can return to the ground for additional missions. In the years ahead, Starship is set to serve a pivotal role in future U.S. spaceflight. Starship is the centerpiece of Musk's vision of sending the first humans to Mars, and is also critical in NASA's plans to return astronauts to the moon's surface. But the next-generation spacecraft has yet to reach orbit on any of its nine uncrewed flight tests, which began in 2023. SpaceX received key regulatory approval earlier in 2025 to conduct up to 25 Starship tests a year, after which Musk took to social media in late May to proclaim that the vehicle's next three launches would occur much faster than normal – at a cadence of one "every 3 to 4 weeks." How big is Starship? The Starship, standing nearly 400 feet tall when fully stacked, is regarded as the world's largest and most powerful launch vehicle ever developed. When fully integrated, the launch system is composed of both a 232-foot Super Heavy rocket and the 171-foot upper stage Starship itself, the spacecraft where crew and cargo would ride. That size makes Starship large enough to tower over SpaceX's famous 230-foot-tall Falcon 9 – one of the world's most active rockets. Super Heavy alone is powered by 33 of SpaceX's Raptor engines that give the initial burst of thrust at liftoff. The upper stage Starship section is powered by six Raptor engines that will ultimately travel in orbit. Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@ This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: SpaceX reveals why Starship exploded last 2 times ahead of flight 10
USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
Why does Starship keep exploding? SpaceX report sheds light on 2 recent mishaps
SpaceX has released the results of its investigations into the destruction of one Starship vehicle during a May 27 flight test, and the explosion of another in June on the ground. Following a successful year for Starship in 2024, SpaceX has endured a series of relative disappointments for the world's largest rocket in 2025. Starship's first three test flights of the year, from January through May, all ended with the spacecraft exploding in dramatic fashion while traveling through the air. Those setbacks were followed in June by the fiery destruction of another Starship vehicle as the commercial rocket company founded by billionaire Elon Musk readied it for ground testing at its South Texas facility. These failures followed on the heels of a year of firsts, when SpaceX launched Starship four times and achieved new milestones each flight. These accomplishments included flying three consecutive times halfway around the world before splashing down as planned in the Indian Ocean, and, in October, the first of three successful returns of the Super Heavy rocket booster to the launch pad. But what might appear as letdowns are still learning experiences that SpaceX has long insisted can provide data on how to improve a spacecraft that will have a crucial role in the future of U.S. spaceflight. Still, that doesn't mean SpaceX isn't obligated to figure out what went wrong. "Every lesson learned, through both flight and ground testing, continues to feed directly into designs for the next generation of Starship and Super Heavy," SpaceX said in August on its website in revealing the findings of its investigations into the last two fiery mishaps. Here's everything to know about SpaceX's report on Starship "flight 9" on May 27 and the June 18 destruction of another upper stage vehicle, as well as how the company is making changes ahead of "flight 10." Commercial spaceflight: How Trump's commercial spaceflight executive order could benefit SpaceX, Elon Musk When is the next Starship launch? SpaceX plans to conduct the 10th flight test of its Starship spacecraft Sunday, Aug. 24, with a target liftoff time of 7:30 p.m. ET. SpaceX conducts Starship test flights from the company's Starbase headquarters in South Texas, located about 23 miles from Brownsville near the U.S.-Mexico border. Texas voters in Cameron County approved a measure in May for Starbase to become a city, complete with a mayor and a city council. What happened when Starship exploded? Starship's upcoming flight test was previously delayed June 18 when the Starship vehicle SpaceX assigned to the next flight, designated Ship 36, unexpectedly exploded while SpaceX was preparing it for launch. No one was hurt in the incident, which occurred as the Starship spacecraft was standing alone on the test stand being filled with cryogenic propellants for an engine test-firing prior to being mounted on top of the rocket booster. The mishap, which SpaceX later referred to on its website as "a sudden energetic event," completely destroyed the spacecraft and ignited several fires that caused damage in the area surrounding the test stand. The explosion was the latest fiery mishap SpaceX's Starship has encountered during – and, now, prior to – its flight tests in 2025. Starship's most recent demonstration came May 27 when the spacecraft spun out of control roughly halfway through its flight and disintegrated in a fireball. Though Starship was unable to achieve its most important objectives, the distance the vehicle traveled far surpassed the previous 2025 flights in January and March, when Starship exploded within minutes. Why does Starship keep exploding? SpaceX releases report SpaceX had previously released findings into the first two Starship explosions in January and March. Now, the company has unveiled the results of investigations for the two most recent mishaps, as required by the Federal Aviation Administration, which licenses commercial rocket launches. The May 27 mission got off to a positive start, with the successful first-ever launch of a rocket booster – known as Super Heavy – that had flown during a previous flight in January. Reusing a booster was an important milestone for SpaceX to demonstrate that the rocket can be flown multiple times. But rather than making a controlled splashdown as planned, the booster came apart in the air and plummeted into the Gulf of Mexico, which the U.S. government has renamed as the Gulf of America. SpaceX attributed the crash to a structural failure to the booster's fuel transfer tube, which resulted in methane and liquid oxygen mixing and igniting. The vehicle's upper stage – known simply as Starship, or Ship – managed to separate from the booster and fire its six Raptor engines to propel itself on a trajectory taking it into suborbital space as it soared around the world. But contact with Starship was lost approximately 46 minutes into the flight as it spun out of control and once again came apart over the Indian Ocean. SpaceX traced the failure to the main fuel tank pressurization system diffuser, located on the forward dome of Starship's primary methane tank. Other issues with the nosecone prevented Starship from deploying eight test Starlink satellites. As for the June explosion, SpaceX said it was caused by undetected damage to a high-pressure nitrogen storage tank inside Starship's payload bay section, called a composite overwrapped pressure vessel (COPV.) In a statement, the FAA said it "oversaw and accepted" SpaceX's findings and gave it the greenlight to proceed with its next Starship launch. "SpaceX identified corrective actions to prevent a reoccurrence of the event," the FAA said. What is Starship? SpaceX rocket to fly to moon, Mars But when it comes to Starship's development, SpaceX has become known for its risk-tolerant philosophy. Musk has stressed that rapid and frequent testing that sometimes leads to explosive ends can still provide data that helps engineers improve the vehicle's design. SpaceX is developing Starship to be a fully reusable transportation system, meaning both the rocket and vehicle can return to the ground for additional missions. In the years ahead, Starship is set to serve a pivotal role in future U.S. spaceflight. Starship is the centerpiece of Musk's vision of sending the first humans to Mars, and is also critical in NASA's plans to return astronauts to the moon's surface. But the next-generation spacecraft has yet to reach orbit on any of its nine uncrewed flight tests, which began in 2023. SpaceX received key regulatory approval earlier in 2025 to conduct up to 25 Starship tests a year, after which Musk took to social media in late May to proclaim that the vehicle's next three launches would occur much faster than normal – at a cadence of one "every 3 to 4 weeks." How big is Starship? The Starship, standing nearly 400 feet tall when fully stacked, is regarded as the world's largest and most powerful launch vehicle ever developed. When fully integrated, the launch system is composed of both a 232-foot Super Heavy rocket and the 171-foot upper stage Starship itself, the spacecraft where crew and cargo would ride. That size makes Starship large enough to tower over SpaceX's famous 230-foot-tall Falcon 9 – one of the world's most active rockets. Super Heavy alone is powered by 33 of SpaceX's Raptor engines that give the initial burst of thrust at liftoff. The upper stage Starship section is powered by six Raptor engines that will ultimately travel in orbit. Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@
