SpaceX Starship Grounded Following Test Flight Mishap

The recent test flight of SpaceX's Starship ended in a catastrophic explosion, prompting the FAA to ground the rocket and initiate an investigation into the event. Debris fell over the Caribbean, but no injuries were reported.

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has grounded SpaceX's Starship rocket following a dramatic explosion during its latest test flight. The upper stage of the rocket disintegrated over the Caribbean shortly after launching from Boca Chica, Texas, causing an immediate alteration of nearby airline flight paths to avoid potential falling debris.

The FAA is collaborating with SpaceX and local authorities to assess any potential damage to public property on the Turks and Caicos Islands, although there have been no reports of injuries related to the incident. As part of the investigatory process, the FAA has mandated that SpaceX conduct a thorough "mishap" investigation, which will precede any decision regarding the resumption of Starship flights.

To manage the situation effectively, the FAA has established a "debris response area," which temporarily slowed aircraft movements in proximity to the area where the debris fell. This precautionary measure led to several aircraft diverting their routes, some due to low fuel levels while awaiting clearance to proceed.

Starship is touted as the most powerful rocket constructed to date and is integral to Elon Musk's aspirations of colonizing Mars. Thursday's uncrewed launch was the seventh test mission for Starship and represented the first flight involving its taller, upgraded version, which is two meters taller than earlier models. Before the launch, SpaceX had described the upper stage as a "new generation ship with significant upgrades" designed to perform a controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean approximately an hour post-launch.

Launching at 17:38 EST (22:38 GMT), Starship successfully separated from its Super Heavy booster approximately four minutes into flight. However, a live stream update from SpaceX communications manager Dan Huot confirmed that mission teams lost contact with the upper stage shortly thereafter. Although the Super Heavy booster completed its ascent and was successfully recovered, the upper stage experienced what SpaceX later described as "rapid unscheduled disassembly."

In his remarks on the social media platform X, Musk indicated that initial assessments suggested the explosion was related to an "oxygen/fuel leak in the cavity above the ship engine firewall." Despite the severity of the mishap, Musk expressed optimism, stating that "nothing so far suggests pushing next launch past next month."

Standing at 123 meters (403 feet) tall, the Starship system—comprised of both the spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket—is designed for full reusability according to SpaceX. A modified version of the system is also planned for use by NASA as a human lunar lander for its Artemis missions aimed at returning humans to the Moon. In the long term, Musk envisions Starship facilitating long-duration missions to Mars and back, which would take around nine months each way.

The recent Starship testing coincided with the successful launch of the Blue Origin New Glenn rocket system, backed by Amazon's Jeff Bezos. This marked a significant achievement for Blue Origin, reflecting the ongoing competition between Musk's SpaceX and Bezos's venture in securing leadership in the space vehicle market.