Flight 7's Ship encountered a propellant leak and fire in the spacecraft's "attic," leading to its explosion and loss. Side-by-side, Flight 8 followed a very similar trajectory, but instead of a fire in the attic, Starship's last flight suffered a "flash" in what could be comparatively called its "basement," which brought about its blazing demise. In this case, "basement" is Ship's business end with six powerful Raptor rocket engines.

A "flash" occurred near one of Ship's center, sea-level Raptor engines, followed by an "energetic event" that led to that engine's shutdown, SpaceX said in an update