SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft exploded in space on Thursday, minutes after launching from Texas. The FAA briefly halted flights in Florida due to falling debris. This is the second major failure for the Mars rocket program in just over a month.
Videos showed fiery debris streaking across the skies near Florida and the Bahamas. A SpaceX live stream captured the rocket spinning uncontrollably before engines shut down and contact was lost.
The 403-foot rocket lifted off at 6:30 p.m. ET. While its booster landed safely, the upper stage failed midflight. SpaceX later confirmed a "rapid unscheduled disassembly," likely an explosion. It remains unclear if the automated flight termination system was triggered. The US aviation administrator, FAA has launched an investigation, delaying future test flights.
Starship was aiming for a near-orbital flight before reentering over the Indian Ocean. Instead, it suffered another setback, raising concerns over Musk’s ambitious Mars plans.
