This fourth test flight began with great promise, going further than its two earlier efforts. But problems set in when the Super Heavy booster exploded rather than splashing down in the Gulf of Mexico. And the upper-stage Starship did not open its doors to deploy some Starlink satellite simulators.

Malfunctions in orbit and re-entry failures
The spacecraft lost pressure and began to spin out of control in suborbital flight, during which some sort of leak caused it to spin faster and start to break apart as it attempted to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere. SpaceX called the mishap a “rapid unscheduled disassembly,” in its inimitable way of avoiding acknowledging failure. Even so, SpaceX noted that it would be important to learn from these experiences for future flights.

Musk is looking to short-circuit launches faster
Elon Musk chimed in with the following: “Launch cadence for the next three flights will be faster – approximately one every three to four weeks.” He wouldn’t say whether a planned live stream involving Mars would go on as scheduled.

Two months after being banned from flying for investigation of mishaps, that latest flight had taken off after a flight ban lasting most of two months was lifted. The two most recent Starship flights, in January and March, ended in explosions shortly after lifting off, showering debris on parts of the Caribbean and scrambling dozens of airline routes. For this flight, the Federal Aviation Administration widened the areas of debris hazard.

Public concern and international attention
Space enthusiasts had gathered at Isla Blanca Park on South Padre Island to watch the event, while tourist boats clogged the lagoon nearby. A live feed showed Musk at Starbase mission control with an “Occupy Mars” shirt on.

One such attendee was 50-year-old Australian Piers Dawson, who organised his first trip to the United States to coincide with the launch, and took his wife and teenage son along. Joshua Wingate, a 33-year-old tech entrepreneur from Austin, described the launch: “There’s never a failure in science. You learn from every single test, so that was still really exciting to see.”