Jan. 16, 2025, 8:04 p.m. ET Elon Musk’s SpaceX lost its 400-foot-tall Starship in space where it was destroyed after launching the rocket from Texas Thursday in its seventh test flight. The engines of the new and improved spacecraft went out during its ascent and the SpaceX team lost contact with the uncrewed craft, the company said. The launch however was not without some success. Before the ship loss, the company successfully demonstrated how its massive mechanical arms dubbed “chopsticks” caught the rocket booster at the launch pad for the second time ever. SpaceX used giant mechanical arms to catch its Starship rocket back at the pad minutes after liftoff Thursday. SPACEX/AFP via Getty Images The “chopsticks” first and only other successful catch-and-return maneuver was demonstrated during an Oct. 13 launch. Before it imploded, the Starship was supposed to zoom across the Gulf of Mexico and release 10 dummy satellites as practice before it would self-destruct in the Indian Ocean. Explore More