SpaceX’s ambitious Starship spacecraft exploded in space minutes after liftoff from Texas on Thursday, marking the second failure this year for Elon Musk’s Mars rocket program. The incident prompted the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to briefly halt air traffic in parts of Florida due to falling debris.
Videos circulating on social media showed fiery fragments streaking across the dusk sky near South Florida and the Bahamas after the spacecraft lost control. A SpaceX live stream revealed that the upper stage of Starship began spinning uncontrollably before losing engine power and breaking apart.
Setback for Mars Mission Plans
The failure of this latest Starship test—its eighth overall—comes just over a month after a similar explosion during its previous flight. The back-to-back failures occurred during early mission phases that SpaceX had previously navigated successfully, posing a setback for Musk’s goal of accelerating the rocket’s development this year.
The 403-foot (123-meter) rocket system is central to Musk’s long-term vision of sending humans to Mars, with hopes of achieving this as early as the next decade.
FAA Launches Investigation
Following the incident, the FAA briefly grounded flights at major Florida airports, including Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Palm Beach, and Orlando, due to the risk of falling space debris. The agency has now launched a formal investigation, requiring SpaceX to identify the cause of the failure and obtain FAA approval before attempting another launch.
The Starship rocket lifted off at approximately 6:30 p.m. ET (2330 GMT) from SpaceX’s Boca Chica launch facility in Texas. While the Super Heavy first-stage booster successfully detached and was caught mid-air by a SpaceX crane, the upper stage of the spacecraft encountered problems soon after. The live stream showed the vehicle spinning, with multiple engine failures leading to a total loss of control.
SpaceX spokesperson Dan Huot acknowledged the setback, referencing the previous Starship failure in January:
“Unfortunately, this happened last time too, so we’ve got some practice now,” he remarked during the broadcast.
Cause of Failure Identified
In a statement released late Thursday, SpaceX confirmed that an “energetic event” in the spacecraft’s aft section caused several engines to fail, leading to a loss of attitude control and ultimately cutting off communications. The company lost contact with Starship approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds after liftoff.
Despite the explosion, SpaceX assured that the debris posed no toxic threat.
Previous Failure and Future Prospects
The last Starship failure in January also ended in an explosion about eight minutes into flight, scattering debris over Caribbean islands and causing minor damage to a car in the Turks and Caicos Islands. Despite this, the FAA granted SpaceX permission for Thursday’s test while still investigating the previous failure.
The latest test was intended to send Starship on a near-complete orbit around Earth before re-entering over the Indian Ocean for a splashdown. SpaceX aims to refine this re-entry and landing sequence for future missions, including eventual Mars landings.
With two consecutive failures, SpaceX now faces increased scrutiny from regulators and the challenge of addressing these technical issues before proceeding with further Starship tests.
