SpaceX's Starship rocket launches in its eighth test — catch the highlights here.

      SpaceX's powerful Starship rocket has successfully launched for the eighth time and also landed the Super Heavy booster from the first stage. However, similar to its previous flight test in January, the upper-stage Starship spacecraft was lost before it could reach its intended landing in the Indian Ocean. The most recent test flight of the strongest rocket ever launched started from SpaceX's Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas, at approximately 5:30 p.m. CT on Thursday, March 7.

      Minutes after the Starship spacecraft separated, the Super Heavy booster returned to the launch tower, where it was secured by two large mechanical arms. This marks the third time SpaceX has accomplished this, enabling the booster to be reused for upcoming missions.

      Unfortunately, an anomaly caused the spacecraft to spin uncontrollably, resulting in an premature end to its mission. While SpaceX has previously landed the Starship in the Indian Ocean, it experienced a catastrophic failure during both this and its last flight in January. Following the conclusion of Thursday's mission, SpaceX stated: “During Starship’s ascent burn, the vehicle encountered a rapid unscheduled disassembly and contact was lost. Our team promptly initiated coordination with safety officials to execute pre-planned contingency responses. We will analyze the data from today’s flight test to gain insights into the root cause. As always, success arises from what we learn, and today’s flight will provide additional lessons to enhance Starship’s reliability.”

      An investigation into January’s failure indicated that unexpected vibrations during the flight contributed to the issue. The vibrations exerted extra stress on the vehicle, leading to propellant leaks and fires that ultimately caused the Starship to disintegrate. It remains too early to ascertain the problems that occurred during Thursday’s mission.

      While SpaceX engineers may feel confident about successfully retrieving the Super Heavy booster, there will likely be disappointment, if not concern, regarding the loss of the Starship in two consecutive missions. NASA aims to utilize this vehicle for the Artemis III mission, currently planned for 2027, which involves a modified Starship carrying the first woman and the first person of color to the lunar surface. There are also hopes for its use in the first crewed mission to Mars, with SpaceX CEO Elon Musk aspiring for this to occur by the end of the decade, although a timeline in the 2030s appears more probable.