SpaceX’s latest flight test of its colossal Starship vehicle turned out to be an explosive one – literally.
While the launch ended with one major accomplishment – the second-ever successful return of the rocket booster to the launch pad – the Starship spacecraft itself was lost during the flight and was witnessed exploding in the sky. SpaceX later said the uncrewed spacecraft was destroyed.
“It served as a reminder that development testing by definition is unpredictable,” the commercial space transportation company said in a mission update on its website.
On his social media site X, SpaceX Founder and CEO Elon Musk made light of the fiery end.
“Success is uncertain, but entertainment is guaranteed!” Musk posted, along with a user video of the Starship debris raining down near the Atlantic Ocean. He added in another post that “improved versions” of the spaceship and booster are “already waiting for launch.”
Because the short flight took place within a designated launch corridor, no one on the ground was endangered by the explosion. But ahead of SpaceX is a Federal Aviation Administration investigation to determine what went wrong during the test, the seventh overall launch for a vehicle meant to one day carry humans to the moon and Mars.
Here’s what to know about the latest Starship launch, as well as what’s ahead for SpaceX and its world’s largest rocket.
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What happened to Starship during the 7th test?
For Thursday’s flight test, SpaceX debuted a new and upgraded model of its 400-foot Starship, composed of both a 165-foot spacecraft and a 232-foot Super Heavy rocket.
After a short delay, the Starship launched at 5:37 p.m. EST from SpaceX’s massive Starbase in southern Texas.
SpaceX successfully caught the returning rocket booster at the launch tower using giant mechanical arms, nicknamed “chopsticks.” The maneuver, which has only been pulled off once before during an October demonstration, was called off in the most recent test in November, which President-elect Donald Trump attended with Musk.
On Thursday, the spacecraft itself was supposed to soar across the Gulf of Mexico before landing in the Indian Ocean, as in previous test flights. In a first, this time around SpaceX had loaded the Starship with 10 Starlink simulators, similar in size and weight to next-generation Starlink satellites, for a deployment test.
However, mission controllers lost contact with the spacecraft within 8 1/2 minutes of its flight before determining that it was destroyed in what the company called a “rapid unscheduled disassembly.” Video on social media showed the explosion and its aftermath as remains of the spacecraft are seen breaking up in what looks like a stunning meteor shower.
Explosion not 1st during SpaceX testing
Thursday’s launch was not the first time a Starship spacecraft has endured a fiery end to a flight test.
SpaceX’s first three launches of the mega-rocket ended in explosions before the company finally managed to land the spacecraft on June 6, 2024, in the Indian Ocean. The feat had been replicated in the previous two flight tests before Thursday.
SpaceX has spent years building and testing the Starship to become a fully reusable launch system that can carry humans and cargo to Earth’s orbit, the moon and even Mars.
Under NASA’s lunar exploration plans, Artemis III astronauts aboard the Orion capsule would board the Starship while in orbit for a ride to the moon’s surface. Musk also has grand ambitions of sending the first Starships to Mars in late 2026, the next time that Earth and Mars line up, followed by crewed flights in 2028.
In a post on X, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson praised the launch, saying the outcome will still bring humanity “closer on our path to the moon and onward to Mars.”
“Spaceflight is not easy. It’s anything but routine. That’s why these tests are so important,” Nelson said in the post.
What went wrong with the Starship launch?
Musk said on X that the preliminary indication is that the destruction was caused by “an oxygen/fuel leak in the cavity above the ship engine firewall.” Fire suppression will be added to the area, he added, along with additional venting and checks for leaks.
SpaceX said it also will conduct an investigation into the cause of the explosion with the FAA, which licenses commercial rocket launches. While SpaceX said initial data indicates a fire developed in the aft section of the ship, Musk said on X that next month’s eighth Starship flight is unlikely to be postponed.
“As always, success comes from what we learn, and this flight test will help us improve Starship’s reliability as SpaceX seeks to make life multiplanetary,” the company said in a statement. “Data review is already underway as we seek out root cause.”
What’s next for Starship? Elon Musk eyes more tests in 2025
SpaceX launched just two Starship flight tests in 2023 before increasing the demos to four in 2024, with the final one of the year taking place in November.
But that’s nothing compared to what Musk hopes to accomplish in 2025.
If Musk has his way, Thursday’s flight test would be just the first of a staggering 25 Starship launches this year. Though Musk’s proposal would need approval from federal regulators, it comes as the billionaire tech mogul’s influence over U.S. policy is likely to grow when Trump takes office next week.
The FAA is set to make a ruling on SpaceX licensing after the federal agency solicited public input on the company’s proposal during five public meetings in January − including four in Texas and one that was livestreamed.
Contributing: Anthony Robledo.
Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected]
