Title: Starship Flight Test 7, 16 Jan 2025.Mechazilla catches the Super Heavy booster while Starship’s debris burn at re-entry.
Concept art (Ren@art, G. ImageFX, A. Photoshop 2025).
Space Exploration Technologies, Inc. (SpaceX) Starship’s Flight Test 7 took place on 16 January 2025. After a successful launch and ascent, Super Heavy booster 14 returned to the launch pad and was successfully caught by the landing tower. Meanwhile, communication was lost with Starship rocket shortly after separation culminating in the destruction of this second stage.
The Integrated Flight Test 7 (IFT-7) demonstrated that the controlled capture of the booster while landing and the reuse of one of the booster’s raptor engines are possible and repeatable.
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Updates
17jan2025: FAA mishap investigation.Background
IFT-7: Starship's structure.NASA imaging of Starship.
Flight Test 7 goals.
Flight Test 7 webcast.
UPDATES
FAA begins mishap investigation after IFT-7 – 17 Jan 2025
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed that it started a “mishap” investigation following regulations after the explosion of the spacecraft during SpaceX Starship Flight Test 7. The authority will review findings before deciding if Starship can return to flight. A “debris response area” was activated for a short time to prevent aircraft from entering the region where debris were likely to fall, and a few aircraft outside that area were diverted due to low fuel levels (Mercer, BBC, 2025).
According to the FAA, there were no reports of public injury or damage to public property in the Turks and Caicos area where debris were observed while they burnt on re-entry into the atmosphere (Aero News Network. FAA, 2025).
SpaceX: Initial data indicates that a fire might have developed in the aft section of the ship, leading to an explosion. Test flights fly over a designated launch corridor to safeguard public on the ground, water and air. Remnants of the vehicle burnt out at re-entry, but any surviving debris might have fallen within areas identified in pre-flight with the approval of the FAA and Air Traffic Control (ATC). SpaceX is collaborating with the government of the United Kingdom and authorities of the British Overseas territory of Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) to monitor reports of any damage (SpaceX, 17 Jan 2025).
END of UPDATES
Starship’s structure
Flight test 7 consisted of Super Heavy Booster 14, which was part of the first version of the vehicle (Block 1), and Ship 33 as the upper stage, which is part of the second generation of the vehicle (Block 2), which had thinner forward flaps positioned further away from the tip (leeward) than in the previous version and capable of carrying 25% more propellant and potentially 100 tons of cargo to orbit when re-used.
The integrated vehicle was the heaviest (5,500 tons) and the tallest (123 m) that SpaceX launched, breaking its own records.
Starship S33 and Super Heavy Booster 14 highlights (SpaceX, 2025).
Ship 33 and Booster 14 underwent cryogenic testing in October 2024 and static fire testing in December of the same year. On 10 January the integrated vehicle underwent a wet dress rehearsal at the launch site.
Starship and Booster’s static fire tests (SpaceX, 2025).
Engine #314 that flew with Booster 12 in Flight Test 5 was re-flown on Booster 14, proving the concept of hardware re-usability.
Raptor Engine 314 marked with a “pie” flew in Flight Test 5 and Test 7 (SpaceX, 2025).
NASA imaging of Starship
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) collaborated with SpaceX by planning the capture of images of Starship’s re-entry into the atmosphere and splash-down. NASA committed a specially equipped jet-plane, the “Gulfstream G-V (N95NA)”, which is regularly stationed at Lyndon B. Johnson Space Centre (JSC) in Huston, Texas, and is used in research flights and to transport NASA astronauts returning from the International Space Station (ISS) back to the JSC upon their landing in Kazakhstan (NASA, 2025).
NASA’s Gulfstream G-V (N95NA) planes and patch (NASA, 2025).
Due to the importance of obtaining optimal images on this flight, NASA request a special permission from the FAA. Brett A. Pugsley, Chief of flight operations at NASA’s Johnson Space Centre wrote in the request “Due to the sensitivity of the imaging equipment, it is necessary to reduce all exterior and interior lighting to a minimum to calibrate the onboard sensors and collect imagery during the re-entry event scheduled for January 2025”.
Once the equipment was calibrated and in preparation for Starship’s Flight Test 7, NASA’s Gulftream V conducted a flight test in Brisbane, Australia on 13 January 2025. Having received similar permission from Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority, the plane moved to Perth ahead of the spacecraft’s launch (Nelson, 2025).
Starship's 7th flight test
Some of the main objectives of Flight Test 7 were:
- Repeat the tower catch of the booster, successfully achieved in Test 5.
- Test Ship 33 on its first flight.
- Test delivery of dummy Starlink satellites.
- Test Ship’ engines firing in vacuum.
- Test the performance of the new configuration of Ship 33’s forward flaps.
- Test Ship 33 vertical landing over the Indian Ocean.
- Obtain imagery and video of Ship 33 as it re-enters the atmosphere.
Following separation of the first and second stages at 2min 40sec of flight, booster 14 returned to the launch site and was successfully captured by the launch/land tower, fulfilling the first objective.
Ship 33’s first engine failure took place at 7min 39sec followed shortly by the other engines. Transmission s from the vehicle were lost a minute later when the spacecraft was at 146 km of altitude. Ship 33 exploded at 11 minutes into its ascent when it was flying over the Caribbean. Re-entry of the debris were visible over Turks and Caicos Islands, Puerto Rico and the British Virgin Islands. The FAA shut down that area of airspace for more than one hour to prevent air collisions.
Diagram of main highlights of Flight Test 7.Booster 14 landed successfully.Ship 33 met its death at 11 min into the flight. Concept art (Ren@rt, SpaceX, 2025).
The following video shows Booster 14 as it descends, executes the landing burn and is caught by the tower at the launchpad from which it launched less than 10 minutes earlier.
A close up view of Booster 14 being caught by the landing tower.
Ship 33’s explosion was caught on video from the Bahamas.
The remains of Ship 33 flew across the sky as they burnt entering the atmosphere. They were recorded from Turks and Caicos Islands.
Debris of Ship 33 burning across the sky as seen from Turks and Caicos Islands (@Nico1129x, 16 January 2025).
Closer view of debris of Ship 33 burning as they enter the atmosphere (@Nico1129x, 16 January 2025).
SpaceX coordinated with Turks and Caicos Islands Government disaster management team and UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch to begin plans to look for debris starting on 25 January 2025, urging the public not to touch the debris to avoid hazardous chemicals.
IFT-7 webcast
The live broadcast of Flight Test 7 on 16 January 2025 was hosted by Kate Tice, Senior Quality Engineering Manager and Dan Huot from the Communications team, both based at Starbase, Boca Chica, Texas, and Jessica Anderson, Manufacturing Engineering Manager based in Hawthorn, California. This was an exciting day for Kate because it was the first time she was present at the launch site for a Starship launch.
IFT-7 webcast hosts: Jessica Anderson, Dan Huot and Kate Tice (SpaceX, 16 January 2025).
Watch Starship Flight Test 7 highlights by SpaceX (3min).
Visit SpaceX’s website to find more about Spaceship Integrated Launch Test 7 including a link to the full webcast (1hr):
Open SpaceX’s “Launches” page for Starship Launch Test 7 (SpaceX, 2025). (Opens in a new tab/window)
Alternatively, go to “X” to view Launch Test 7’s full webcast (1hr):
Open X on the post: Starship Launch Test 7 webcast (@SpaceX, 16 January 2025). (Opens in a new tab/window)
Ship 33 debris burning across the sky over Turks and Caicos Islands.Concept art (Ren@art, G. ImageFX, A. Photoshop 2025).
REFERENCES
» FAA (2025) General Statements. January 17, 2025. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). 17 January 2025. [Online article]. Available at FAA.gov. Accessed: 17 February 2025.
» Mercer D (2025) US grounds SpaceX’s Starship after test flight explosion. BBC News. 17 January 2025. [Online article]. Available at BBC News. Accessed: 17 January 2025.
» NASA (2025) Gulfstream V - JSC. [Online article]. Available at NASA Airborne Science Program. Accessed: 17 January 2025.
» Nelson J (2025) NASA sends jet to Australia to monitor Starship. Space Connect. 07 January 2025. [Online article]. Available at Space Connect Online. Accessed: 17 January 2025.
» SpaceX (2025) Starship’s seventh flight test. SpaceX. 17 January 2025. [Online article]. Available at SpaceX.com. Accessed: 18 January 2025.
» Wikipedia (2025) SpaceX Starship. [Online article]. Available at Wikipedia. Accessed: 17 January 2025.
» Wikipedia (2025) Starship flight test 7. [Online article]. Available at Wikipedia. Accessed: 18 January 2025.
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