SpaceX’s Starship Explodes in Space During Test Flight

Elon Musk’s SpaceX suffered another setback on Thursday, March 6, as its Starship rocket exploded in space during its eighth test flight.

The 403-foot rocket launched from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, at around 6:30 PM ET, but within minutes, contact was lost. The spacecraft, designed for future moon landings and Mars missions, spiraled out of control before breaking apart, scattering debris across Florida and the Bahamas.

The explosion occurred after several engines shut down, causing the spacecraft to lose altitude control.

In a statement, SpaceX said: “During Starship’s ascent burn, the vehicle experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly and contact was lost.

“Our team immediately began coordination with safety officials to implement pre-planned contingency responses.

“We will review the data from today’s flight test to better understand root cause. As always, success comes from what we learn, and today’s flight will offer additional lessons to improve Starship’s reliability.”

In response, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a ground notice for multiple flights and confirmed that SpaceX must conduct a mishap investigation.

Flights at Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Palm Beach, and Orlando airports were delayed by an average of 45 minutes due to concerns over space launch debris. The notice remained in effect until 8 PM ET (1 AM UK time).

This failure follows January’s test flight, where Starship exploded over the Bahamas just eight minutes after launch.