SpaceX may attempt another Starship launch next month after the Jan. 16 test. Credit: SpaceX SpaceX said a leak may have caused a fire in Starship’s upgraded Block 2 upper stage, leading to the loss of the vehicle during the super-heavy lift launch system’s seventh test flight, while also signaling it would press ahead with plans for another mission in weeks. “Preliminary indication is that we had an oxygen/fuel leak in the cavity above the ship engine firewall that was large enough to build pressure in excess of the vent capacity,” SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said via social media. Telemetry data during the Jan. 16 launch from Boca Chica Beach, Texas, at 4:37 p.m. CST, indicate problems with the system began around 7 min. 43 sec. after launch, when one of the three center-mounted Raptors appeared to shut down prematurely. “Initial data indicates a fire developed in the aft section of the ship, leading to a rapid unscheduled disassembly,” SpaceX said in a statement. That came after all six Raptor engines powering the upper stage lit following stage separation. Telemetry was lost about eight and a half minutes into the flight, the company said. Flight tracking website Flightradar24 said some aircraft at the time appeared to be holding or diverting to avoid any potential debris from the breakup of the space vehicle. The loss of the upper stage ended SpaceX’s ambition to deploy payloads for the first time using Starship. The system was carrying 10 Starlink internet satellite mass simulators. “Data review is already underway as we seek out root cause. We will conduct a thorough investigation, in coordination with the FAA, and implement corrective actions to make improvements on future Starship flight tests,” SpaceX added. Musk said that “apart from obviously double-checking for leaks, we will add fire suppression to that volume and probably increase vent area.” Although SpaceX was able to catch the super-heavy booster with its so-called chopstick launch tower arms—only the second time it achieved the feat—the first stage also did not perform entirely normally. Initially, only 12 of 13 Raptor engines relit for the boostback burn to return to the launch site following hot-stage separation. It was later able to relight all 13 engines to perform the landing burn, enabling the catch of the booster. Musk also said several new features of the Starship system’s upper stage were validated despite the loss. “New ship forward flaps, higher-thrust engines and tile adherence on ascent were tested,” he said. “Improved heat shield performance was the only major thing that wasn’t tested,” he added, along with the payload dispenser. He graded the upper stage test as a 25% success. “This is barely a bump in the road,” he said. The company has championed a development approach to press ahead with development activities even while trying to draw lessons from setbacks, rather than pausing until investigations are done. After this week’s failure it said that “the ship and booster for Starship’s eighth flight test are built and going through prelaunch testing and preparing to fly as we continue a rapid iterative development process to build a fully and rapidly reusable space transportation system.” “Nothing so far suggests pushing next launch past next month,” Musk added.