SpaceX Starship Rocket Explodes During TestFlight

SpaceX’s mammoth Starship spun wildly out of control and broke apart during its eighth test flight, another setback for Elon Musk’s company less than two months after its last mission ended with an explosion.

A few minutes after blasting off on Thursday from south Texas, the rocket’s two portions split apart as planned. The Super Heavy booster then returned to Earth, where it was caught midair by the launch tower’s giant mechanical arms.

But then the Starship spacecraft began tumbling as it headed to space roughly eight minutes into flight, and mission control eventually lost contact with the vehicle.

While Starship ignited all six of its Raptor engines as planned, some engines started to malfunction before the engines were supposed to cut off, one of the SpaceX livestream hosts said. At that point, Starship started careening out of control.

Later, the company posted a statement on X saying Starship broke apart and that it was working with safety officials.

The Federal Aviation Administration’s air traffic control system command center issued an automated advisory alerting operators to falling debris. The agency also issued a “ground stop” order halting takeoffs for some Florida airports due to space debris, which it later lifted.

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