Watch SpaceX’s Starship Blow Up In HD Courtesy of NASA’s Plane

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Fresh footage from a NASA observation aircraft courtesy of a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) shows remarkable views of SpaceX's April Starship test flight which saw the world's largest rocket take to the skies before failing at stage separation. NASA's WB-57 aircraft was one of the first to provide clues about an impending launch through its scheduling calendar, and the plane regularly covers SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft after it returns from space to monitor the capsule through the perilous stages of descent. The new footage comes from two of the WB-57's five cameras, with the remaining kept classified by the space agency.

NASA's calendar for the WB-57 was one of the first to provide a hint for an upcoming Starship launch earlier this year. The agency uses the aircraft for research purposes and the plane is often booked for flights months in advance. The first WB-57 placeholder for a Starship launch surfaced in February, and it saw the plane being booked for a March test attempt. Then, the second placeholder appeared in April, and it booked slots for two planes, JSC #926 and JSC #927. Out of these, 926 was booked for the time during which the Starship launch took place, and today's visuals are likely from this aircraft.

The plane is typically used when a communications blackout occurs in a human spaceflight mission during atmospheric reentry. During this time period, the WB-57 is generally the first to provide visual confirmation of a reentry - a job that it is particularly suited to since it is the only aircraft apart from the U2 with a service ceiling greater than 50,000 feet.