SpaceX's Starship explodes in latest launch failure for Elon Musk

SpaceX's Starship explodes in latest launch failure for Elon Musk

Aviation regulator reroutes flights from four Florida airports to avoid falling debris.

SpaceX's mega rocket, Starship, exploded shortly after takeoff in what marks the second launch failure this year for Elon Musk’s interplanetary exploration program.

However, SpaceX successfully returned its massive first-stage booster to the launchpad after Thursday's test flight, capturing it with its large mechanical "chopsticks" for the third time.

The test flight was streamed live, showing the Starship spacecraft spinning uncontrollably in space just minutes after its liftoff from the company’s Boca Chica, Texas, launch site.

“We’ve lost several engines, and we’ve lost attitude control of the vehicle,” said SpaceX communications manager Dan Huot during the livestream. “Once you lose enough of those center engines, you’re going to lose attitude control. We saw the ship start to spin, and at this point, we’ve lost contact with the ship."

Footage shared on social media showed fiery debris streaking across the skies of South Florida and the Bahamas as remnants of the spacecraft reentered Earth’s atmosphere.

The Federal Aviation Administration briefly halted flights to four Florida airports, including Miami International Airport, due to falling debris. The FAA also launched a “mishap investigation” to determine the cause of the failure and identify corrective actions to prevent a recurrence.

This mixed outcome follows SpaceX’s seventh test flight in January, which ended with the Starship breaking apart mid-flight, forcing airlines to reroute flights to avoid debris.

In a statement following Thursday's failed launch, SpaceX said the vehicle had "experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly" before losing contact.

“Our team immediately began coordinating with safety officials to implement pre-planned contingency responses,” the company said on X. “We will review the data from today’s flight test to better understand the root cause. As always, success comes from what we learn, and today’s flight will offer additional lessons to improve Starship’s reliability.”

NASA has contracted SpaceX to develop Starship for its Artemis program, which aims to return astronauts to the Moon this decade. Musk, the world’s richest person, has expressed hopes of using Starship to achieve his long-standing vision of establishing a permanent colony on Mars by 2050.

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