The aviation regulator suspended flights at four airports in Florida to prevent any potential harm from falling debris. This decision was made following the explosion of SpaceX’s Starship shortly after its launch, marking the second failure for Elon Musk’s Mars exploration program this year.
Despite the mishap, SpaceX managed to return the massive first-stage booster to the launchpad successfully during Thursday’s test flight, securing it with their colossal mechanical “chopsticks” for the third time.
The livestream from SpaceX showed the Starship spacecraft losing control and tumbling in space shortly after its departure from Boca Chica, Texas. The company’s communications manager, Dan Huot, confirmed the loss of several engines and attitude control while streaming live.
Huot explained that losing a sufficient number of the center engines results in a loss of attitude control, which was evident as the ship began to spin uncontrollably. Eventually, all communication with the ship was lost.
Videos posted on social media captured fiery debris streaking across the Florida and Bahamian skies as the remnants of the craft reentered the Earth’s atmosphere.
In response to the incident, the Federal Aviation Administration paused flights at four Florida airports, including Miami International Airport, to ensure the safety of passengers and prevent any potential harm from falling debris.
The FAA has initiated an investigation to determine the cause of the incident and identify corrective measures to prevent future occurrences. This follows a similar event in January when SpaceX’s seventh test flight ended in mid-flight breakup, causing diversions of flights to avoid falling debris.
In a statement, SpaceX explained that the space vehicle experienced a “rapid unscheduled disassembly” before contact was lost. The company assured that it immediately coordinated with safety officials to enact pre-planned contingency responses and will review the data from the flight test to understand the root cause. They emphasized that every setback provides valuable lessons to enhance the Starship’s reliability.
SpaceX has been contracted by NASA to develop the Starship prototype for their Artemis program, aimed at returning astronauts to the moon this decade. Elon Musk, the world’s wealthiest individual, has expressed his aspirations to use Starship to establish a permanent colony on Mars by 2050.
Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2025/3/7/spacexs-starship-explodes-in-latest-launch-setback-for-elon-musk?traffic_source=rss
