The Amazing Booster Catcher Worked Again... but the Top Stage Didn't

[georged]

The top stage underwent "rapid unscheduled disassembly":

SpaceX loses spacecraft after catching rocket booster at the launch pad in latest Starship test

SpaceX has caught its Starship rocket back at the pad following liftoff. But the spacecraft launched on top Thursday was destroyed.

apnews.com

 

[brian64]

"rapid unscheduled disassembly"

I love that phrase.

 

[Pypkė]

The videos of the disassembled Starship re-entering the atmosphere are spectacular.

 

[beefeater33]

Elon loves blowin’ shit up!

 

[lraisch]

Elon loves blowin’ shit up!

Now if he'd just leave our government alone.

 

[Pypkė]

Now if he'd just leave our government alone.

...in by special invitation

 

[mikethompson]

Lol rapid unscheduled disassembly?

It blew up.

 

[sablebrush52]

The top stage underwent "rapid unscheduled disassembly":

SpaceX loses spacecraft after catching rocket booster at the launch pad in latest Starship test

SpaceX has caught its Starship rocket back at the pad following liftoff. But the spacecraft launched on top Thursday was destroyed.

apnews.com

So, if I understand things correctly, the head assembly, known as the starship, not to be confused with starcat, went through a sort of botched circumcision.

 

[renfield]

The unscheduled multi-part reentry really f’ed up commercial flights around the Caribbean. Many fuel related emergencies declared and landings at other than the intended destination.

 

[Briar Lee]

To put this in pespective:

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Elon Musk is the wealthiest person in the world, with an estimated net worth of US$426 billion as of January 2025, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, and $416 billion according to Forbes, primarily from his ownership stakes in Tesla, Inc. and SpaceX.
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Such wealth is hard to explain.

He could buy Boeing and Airbus and General Motors and destroy them like he did Twitter, and still be as rich as Warren Buffett.

The failed launch today, since they caught the 90 million dollar booster, is inconsequential.

If I had that much money I’d buy all of Spout Spring Hollow, and invest 420 billion in US Treasuries and live on the tax free interest of
$2,000,000 per hour.

I’m just glad he’s on our side, or at least he claims to be.

Such a man would make a very dangerous villain.

 

[BingBong]

The unscheduled multi-part reentry really f’ed up commercial flights around the Caribbean. Many fuel related emergencies declared and landings at other than the intended destination.

That could potentially happen with any launch, so the FAA need to do a new risk assessment and prioritized NOTAM, perhaps. There must be existing procedures for satellites and skylabs falling out of orbit - and they're even less predictable.

 

[JoburgB2]

A big much ado about nothing.

 

[solideogloria86]

Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly. That is a beautiful term. So many uses. Break something? The object underwent Rapid unscheduled Disassembly. Want to threaten someone? "Your face is about to experience rapid unscheduled disassembly."

 

[Briar Lee]

More factoids from Google AI:

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The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) annual budget varies from year to year, but in 2023 it was $25.4 billion. This was a 5.6% increase from 2022.

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How much does Elon Musk make a day?​

On average, Elon Musk makes more than $54 million per day – that amounts to nearly $2.3 million per hour, $37,879 per minute, and $631 per second. And that’s if we average the income over the span of 24 hours. If we base those figures on an 8-hour workday instead, Musk makes $6,818,000 per hour and $113,636 per minute, which is about 38% more than the average annual wage in the US.

Xxxx

Musk’s 90 million dollar booster worked, and he recovered it.

Losing the starship would be like us losing a button off our shirts.

 

[renfield]

That could potentially happen with any launch, so the FAA need to do a new risk assessment and prioritized NOTAM, perhaps. There must be existing procedures for satellites and skylabs falling out of orbit - and they're even less predictable.

The length of time ATC blocked out the airspace seemed longer than necessary but it was probably because they had no way of knowing how big the foot print was. The FAA contacted SpaceX but they didn't have any info either on what had happened at that point.

When I worked at Johnson Space Center one of the things my group did was the analysis for debris reentry as a part of ascent mission design. It was very involved because we had to consider so may possible scenarios. The launch time and azimuth was always affected by where stuff my go when things go wrong. I don't know what SpaceX did for analysis.

SpaceX's trajectory was in the "slot" between Cuba and Florida. Not good.

 

[sablebrush52]

The unscheduled multi-part reentry really f’ed up commercial flights around the Caribbean. Many fuel related emergencies declared and landings at other than the intended destination.

Little bother to pay for making Musk even wealthier. In another couple of years he can buy the US outright and do whatever he wants with it.

 

[Briar Lee]

Little bother to pay for making Musk even wealthier. In another couple of years he can buy the US outright and do whatever he wants with it.

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Together, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the NASDAQ comprise the deepest financial market in the world, with a market cap of over US$50 trillion.

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Musk only owns less than 1/100 of the value of the NYSE and Nasdaq.

Depending on how you measure his wealth he might be the richest man in the history of the world, not just our current world.

Him snagging that booster is a BFD.

It makes a Mars colony ever more likely.


They can supply it. Shoot unmanned cargo starships up there like so many 747s.

The technology push will equal a war, without the blood and treasure spilled.

Think of all the nerds that man employs and none are making weapons.