'Not a happy night at Starbase': Space enthusiasts have mixed emotions about flight 9

STARBASE, Texas (ValleyCentral) — SpaceX's ninth test launch of Starship is getting mixed reactions from enthusiasts after Tuesday's flight failed to meet its three objectives.

The three objectives were for the ship to reach orbit, release its payload, and check how they could maneuver the reusable Super Heavy booster.

Two space enthusiasts had different views on what this means for the company, but all agree that the program is too big to fail.

Michael Paul, a space enthusiast who has been to nearly all SpaceX launches, says he was not thrilled with flight 9.

“It was not a happy night at Starbase last night," Paul said.

Paul says that although SpaceX's goals were not reached, the launch certainly helped engineers collect a lot of new data on the ship. And on the bright side, he says the ship did take flight.

“My reaction is like everybody... disappointed that it didn’t complete the mission," Paul said. "My bigger concern is that the test flight schedule is not fast enough; just because these items are so big, you cannot move fast.”

Even though the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has given SpaceX the green light to conduct more launches, he believes this will not be possible due to the logistics of transporting thousands of trucks of fuel per launch.

Other space enthusiasts like Anthony Gomez from Rocket Ranch say the launch was successful.

“Most people see them as failures, but that is how you get progress," Gomez said. "Nobody has the information, but you have to acquire the information, and they have done it in a responsible and safe way."

He believes people should not be disappointed, and the timetable to reach Mars remains the same.

“People forget that this is a prototype," he added. "That is how you learn. You built the thing, you see what works, what doesn’t, and you make thousands of changes between one system and another, and this is how you create progress.”

Although Paul believes SpaceX will take us to Mars, he doesn't anticipate it will happen anytime soon.

“All this talk about going to Mars and making life multiplanetary, that’s kind of cool and philosophically okay, but that’s not what is going to happen," Paul said. "What’s going to happen is we have to occupy the moon first, and the moon becomes a training ground for Mars.”

Gomez says he is ready for the next launch and all the spectators that come with it. He hopes it includes the Starship returning to the launch pad.

“Rapid reusability, and using those towers to launch and land the vehicle, and that is going to be a win for everybody," Gomez said. "A win for the environment, a win for society, a win for technology and humanity."

ValleyCentral reached out to the FAA and SpaceX for comment on Tuesday's launch but did not hear back.