LOS ANGELES, March 7 (Xinhua) -- An energetic event in the aft portion of SpaceX Starship spacecraft resulted in the loss of several Raptor engines, and led to a loss of attitude control and ultimately a loss of communications with Starship during its flight test on Thursday, according to SpaceX.

Starship took off from the company's Starbase facility near Brownsville in the U.S. state of Texas at about 5:30 p.m. Central Time Thursday.

About seven minutes after liftoff, the rocket's Super Heavy booster successfully returned to the launch site for a "chopsticks" catch -- catching the returning booster using mechanical "chopsticks," called "Mechazilla," on the launch tower.

It was the third successful catch of a Super Heavy booster, according to SpaceX.

Starship continued its ascent to its planned trajectory. Prior to the end of the ascent burn, an energetic event in the aft portion of Starship resulted in the loss of several Raptor engines. This in turn led to a loss of attitude control and ultimately a loss of communications with Starship, according to SpaceX.

Final contact with Starship came approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds after liftoff, said SpaceX.

Starship flew within a designated launch corridor to safeguard the public both on the ground, on water, and in the air. Following the anomaly, SpaceX teams immediately began coordination with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Air Traffic Control and other safety officials to implement pre-planned contingency responses, according to SpaceX.

The company said that any surviving debris would have fallen within the pre-planned Debris Response Area. There are no toxic materials present in the debris and no significant impacts expected to occur to marine species or water quality.

SpaceX said it will conduct a thorough investigation, in coordination with the FAA, and implement corrective actions to make improvements on future Starship flight tests.

SpaceX's Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket, collectively referred to as Starship, represent a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry both crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond.

Starship plays a key role in NASA. It is the vehicle that NASA selected to carry astronauts on the final leg of their trip to the moon during a mission called Artemis III, currently planned for 2026. Enditem

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