SpaceX Finally Knows Why Starship Failed — And It’s Worse Than Before

SpaceX Finally Knows Why Starship Failed Explained by Abhishek Shakya

Starship is an unmitigated failure — that much we all know by now. But most people still don’t understand the full extent of what a terrible failure Starship actually is.

At the time of writing, SpaceX has already spent approximately $10 billion on Starship and hasn’t even managed to reach proper orbit — let alone deliver a single payload to space.

To put that into perspective, NASA’s Saturn V rocket, which was developed in the 1960s with older, less advanced technology, cost only about $6.4 billion to develop (or around $1.4 billion per launch in today’s dollars). And what did Saturn V achieve? It took humans to the Moon.

Meanwhile, Starship hasn’t even proven it can survive a full launch. And the reason behind its most recent failure? It’s more humiliating than you might expect.

🚀 What Happened in the Last Starship Test?

On its most recent test flight, Starship once again ended in disaster — exploding mid-flight after stage separation.

At first, SpaceX stayed silent. But after weeks of internal investigations and data analysis, the company finally revealed what went wrong.

And it wasn’t a high-tech issue.
It wasn’t a major rocket science flaw.
It was something basic, preventable, and deeply embarrassing.

🔍 The Real Cause of Starship’s Explosion

According to SpaceX, the reason behind the Starship failure was:

A leak in the propulsion system that led to uncontrolled spinning and the activation of the Flight Termination System.

Let’s break this down simply:

1. Stage Separation Was Successful:
   For the first time, SpaceX managed to cleanly separate the Super Heavy booster from the Starship upper stage.
2. Then the Problem Started:
   Shortly after separation, Starship began to tumble — spinning uncontrollably.
3. Cause of the Tumble:
   A small leak in the Raptor engine’s liquid oxygen system caused a loss of pressure. This disrupted engine performance and made the spacecraft lose control.
4. Final Result:
   Because the vehicle was no longer stable and couldn’t be recovered, the onboard computer activated the Flight Termination System, blowing up the rocket to prevent danger to people or property.

😬 Why This Is So Embarrassing

Here’s why this failure stings more than any other:

• It wasn’t a complex systems failure. It was a basic design oversight.
• The leak could’ve been avoided with better thermal shielding or structural reinforcement.
• SpaceX has already flown several prototypes, meaning they should’ve caught this by now.
• This error happened after billions in spending and years of testing.

In short: SpaceX missed a rookie mistake — on their most important rocket.

💸 $10 Billion — For What?

Let’s go back to the money.
SpaceX has now spent over $10 billion on Starship, a vehicle that hasn’t reached orbit, delivered a satellite, or carried any crew.

Compare that to:

• Saturn V: $6.4 billion to build, with multiple Moon missions.
• Falcon 9: SpaceX’s own rocket, which cost less and now launches regularly.

So far, Starship has cost more than all of them — for zero results.

🛠️ What SpaceX Plans to Do Next

To fix this issue, SpaceX has announced the following steps:

1. Improved Leak Detection:
   Adding better sensors and pressure monitors inside the engine systems.
2. Reinforced Insulation:
   To prevent extreme heat from weakening engine seals.
3. Software Upgrades:
   Improved control algorithms to better detect and correct tumbling behavior.
4. Design Tweaks to Raptor Engines:
   To ensure more reliability during high-stress transitions like stage separation.

🧪 The Harsh Truth: SpaceX Is Still in Experimental Mode

Many forget that Starship isn’t just a new rocket — it’s a completely new system.

• 33 engines on one stage (most ever on a rocket).
• Fully reusable design.
• Intended to launch hundreds of tons to Mars.

But that vision is still far away. Right now, Starship is a billion-dollar experiment that hasn’t worked.

And unless SpaceX finds and fixes its basic engineering problems, the dream of Mars could turn into the reality of more explosions.

Conclusion:

SpaceX finally knows why Starship failed — and it’s worse than before because the failure wasn’t due to innovation, but a basic, avoidable mistake. With $10 billion spent and no orbit reached, the world is watching closely.

Can Elon Musk turn this around? Or is Starship destined to become the most expensive failure in space history?

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