About the mission
 

Starship Flight Test 7, the seventh Starship test flight, was launched on January 16, 2025, and followed a suborbital trajectory similar to previous flights. It marked the second successful catch of a Super Heavy booster.

The flight involved Booster 14 (B14) and Ship 33 (S33), with S33 being the first Block 2 ship used in a flight test. The mission was first mentioned in an advisory on December 27.

Starship 14/33 launched on schedule. During ascent, part of the upper stage appeared to wear off. The ship hotstaged nominally and separated. The Booster executed a successful boostback burn, although one of the 13 inner engines failed to relight due to a low-power condition in the igniter system. All thirteen engines reignited for the landing burn, with the final part performed by the three innermost engines. Booster 14 was successfully caught by the OLIT-1 tower without damage to its four chine sections or engines, marking the first undamaged recovery of a Super Heavy.

Ship 33 continued toward orbit, but a small fire was visible in the hinge area of a flap. Less than a minute before Second Engine Cut Off (SECO), telemetry indicated the loss of several engines and a rapid decrease in CH4 levels. Approximately eight and a half minutes into the flight, telemetry was completely lost. Analysis by Scott Manley, based on footage from Frank Taylor, suggested the ship exploded about three minutes later. SpaceX confirmed the loss of Ship 33, stating that initial data indicated a fire in the aft section led to a "rapid unscheduled disassembly." Elon Musk specified that the ship likely experienced 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 later reported that approximately two minutes into the second stage's burn, issues began to escalate.