SpaceX Suffers Third Consecutive Starship Test Failure as Recycled Booster Breaks Apart Post-Orbit

SpaceX experiences another high-profile setback in its ambitious Starship program as its ninth test flight ends in failure Tuesday night, marking the company’s third unsuccessful attempt in a row. The latest launch from Hawthorne, California achieves partial success by reaching orbit—unlike its two previous counterparts that exploded before leaving the atmosphere—but ultimately fails during the critical re-entry phase.

According to SpaceX officials, the rocket completes a successful lift-off and orbital insertion. However, the deployment mechanism for its set of mock satellites malfunctions, leading to a failure in achieving the test mission’s primary objective. . .