SpaceX's Starship Flight 8 which ended in another explosion yesterday was caught by NASA astronauts on board the International Space Station (ISS) and an X user from their flight. Starship Flight 8 was the second time that SpaceX flew its new second generation upper stage rocket, and its end mirrored that of Flight 7 as the ship exploded soon after separating from the first stage Super Heavy booster. After the mission, SpaceX shared that a "high energy" event in the rocket's aft or bottom section contributed to the loss of the vehicle. The footage from the ISS and the X user shows the Starship's debris raining on Earth, similar to Flight 7.
SpaceX's Starship Ship Failed Due To Trouble In Aft Section, Explains Firm
Soon after its second attempt to fly the upgraded Starship second stage ended in disaster, SpaceX shared a brief update. The firm explained that after Starship started its ascent burn, the rocket's aft, or rear, portion experienced an "energetic event" which led to several of its Raptor engines going offline. The engine shutdown meant that the ship lost its flight orientation, and eventually, SpaceX lost communication with the spacecraft as it exploded once again during flight.
After SpaceX completed its Flight 7 investigation, the firm shared that a propellant system leak in the aft section led to Raptor engine shutdown. Whether the reason behind yesterday's flight explosion is similar is uncertain, but the 'high energy' event described by the firm was caught on its livestream briefly. SpaceX's footage also showed what was most likely either the rocket's propellant or liquid oxygen spurting out of its side before the firm lost communication with the rocket.
Similar to Flight 7, multiple footage on social media surfaced soon after SpaceX's Starship Flight 8 explosion and showed the rocket falling to Earth in a trail of debris. Two of these are particularly notable. The first is captured by a user while traveling in the air and the second is by NASA astronaut Don Petit currently onboard the International Space Station (ISS).
Just saw Starship 8 blow up from our flight @elonmusk @SpaceX pic.twitter.com/RyDzUtXzpo
— DegenZee (@Degen_Zee) March 7, 2025
The former shows brightly lit debris from the rocket visible just over the horizon as it rains down on Earth. Starship resembles an asteroid or other space object entering the Earth's atmosphere, and in its post-flight update, SpaceX assured those concerned that "Any surviving debris would have fallen within the pre-planned Debris Response Area." The firm added that "There are no toxic materials present in the debris and no significant impacts expected to occur to marine species or water quality."
The footage from the NASA astronaut comes in the form of two images. Given the ISS' altitude and speed, the images capture the rocket's end as a hazy cloud that is also visible over the horizon with the Sun setting in the background.
The Starship Flight 8 explosion marks another setback for SpaceX as it halts its test program progress and delays progress toward the key test objective of in-space propellant transfer scheduled for 2025. This test is key to demonstrate the rocket's ability to send humans to the Moon under NASA's Artemis program. SpaceX also has to catch the ship with the launch tower to make progress with ship re-usability and develop the world's first fully reusable second stage rocket.
We saw the Starship 8 breakup in the upper atmosphere and fall back to earth from the ISS. pic.twitter.com/ZhDoGTCvS4
— Don Pettit (@astro_Pettit) March 7, 2025
