SpaceX's Starship program has hit a snag, with the vehicle experiencing a fatal problem during a test flight on Thursday, marking the second consecutive failure in a row. The spacecraft, designed to take humans to the moon and beyond, spiraled out of control while in space, losing multiple Raptor engines in the process.

The test flight, which began with a normal launch using the Super Heavy booster, seemed to be going smoothly for the first eight minutes. The ship successfully separated from the booster and headed into space, while the booster returned to the launchpad in Texas, where it was caught by the launch tower for the third time. However, things took a turn for the worse at around eight minutes and nine seconds into the flight, when the Starship's onboard footage showed it starting to spiral end over end over the Gulf of Mexico.

SpaceX's broadcast graphics revealed that the vehicle had lost multiple Raptor engines, causing it to lose attitude control. "We just saw some engines go out, it looks like we are losing attitude control of the ship," SpaceX communications manager Dan Huot said on the broadcast. "At this point, we have lost contact with the ship." The failure to deploy four dummy versions of its Starlink satellites, a key goal of the test flight, was a significant setback for the company.

This latest failure comes just a few weeks after the seventh test flight, which saw Starship break up in spectacular fashion over the islands of Turks & Caicos. The incident caused the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to divert a number of flights in that airspace. Despite these setbacks, SpaceX is committed to developing Starship through a series of test flights, learning from both successes and failures.

The Starship program is a critical component of SpaceX's ambitious plans to establish a human settlement on Mars and to provide commercial satellite launch services. While these failures are undoubtedly a challenge, they are an inherent part of the development process. As SpaceX continues to push the boundaries of space technology, it is likely that there will be more setbacks along the way.

Despite the latest failure, SpaceX remains committed to its goal of using Starship for commercial missions. The company's willingness to learn from its mistakes and to iterate on its design is a key factor in its success. As the space industry continues to evolve, SpaceX's Starship program will play a critical role in shaping the future of space exploration and commercialization.

This is a developing story, and we will continue to provide updates as more information becomes available.