SpaceX Starship Explosion Causes Flight Diversions

SpaceX’s Starship—which towers more than 400 feet tall when stacked atop the Super Heavy booster in its current Block 2 configuration—was about eight minutes into its seventh test flight when it experienced what SpaceX calls a “rapid unscheduled disassembly.” In other words, the rocket blew up.

In a postflight update, the company said the explosion was likely caused by a fire on the ship. According to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, the “preliminary indication” is that a fuel leak above the ship’s engine sparked the blaze.

“Success is uncertain, but entertainment is guaranteed!” Musk said in a post on X accompanied by a video of the shattered spacecraft tumbling from the sky.

The glowing fragments lit up the evening sky like a meteor shower, leaving trails of light and smoke in their path. But while pretty to look at, they posed danger to pilots, many of whom were forced to divert.

According to data from FlightRadar24, multiple aircraft, including those flying routes for American Airlines, JetBlue, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines, were placed in holding patterns or landed prior to reaching their final destination. A spokesperson for American told CNBC the airline had fewer than 10 diversions.

A viral video on social media site Reddit posted by user u/balsadust appears to depict firsthand footage of Starship’s remnants. The user, who claims to be a pilot, said they were forced to divert to Exuma International Airport (MYEF) in the Bahamas due to the explosion. They said two other pilots also had to change course and declare fuel emergencies.

According to SpaceX, Starship flew within a special corridor that would contain any debris to a “dedicated hazard area.” The FAA, though, told FLYING it activated a debris response area—which only happens when fragments fall outside the hazard area—to warn nearby aircraft.

“During the event, the FAA…briefly slowed aircraft outside the area where space vehicle debris was falling or stopped aircraft at their departure location,” the agency said. “Several aircraft requested to divert due to low fuel levels while holding outside impacted areas.”

The regulator said it is working to confirm reports of property damage on Turks and Caicos but has received no reports of injury. SpaceX advised anyone who discovers an unidentified hunk of metal to contact its debris hotline rather than try to pick it up.

The FAA on Friday confirmed it will require SpaceX to perform a mishap investigation due to the loss of the ship. That was the outcome for each of Starship’s first three flights, two of which similarly ended in a ball of flames. The longest investigation returned the rocket to action in about seven months.

“We will conduct a thorough investigation, in coordination with the FAA, and implement corrective actions to make improvements on future Starship flight tests,” SpaceX said in Thursday’s update, adding that the ship and booster for Flight 8 have already been built.

Musk, meanwhile, said on X that “nothing so far suggests pushing next launch past next month.”

Losing the Block 2 Starship on its debut flight was not the optimal outcome. But SpaceX still managed to make significant progress on Flight 7.

In October, SpaceX made history by snaring the Super Heavy booster from the sky using a pair of metal chopstick arms attached to a tower on the launch pad, which the company calls “Mechazilla.” The unprecedented maneuver, which required accuracy down to the centimeter, is the key to making Super Heavy—and eventually Starship itself—reusable.

On Thursday, the company did it again. A booster catch attempt was aborted on the previous mission due to concerns with Mechazilla’s hardware. But this time, the stars aligned, and the maneuver was a roaring success.

SpaceX has now caught the booster twice, two more times than anybody else. That’s a major boon for the company, considering its aim to launch Starship up to 25 times per year hinges on Super Heavy’s reusability. Blue Origin, which is developing the semireusable New Glenn, failed to land its booster on the rocket’s maiden voyage this week.

The next key objectives for SpaceX include catching Starship itself, as well as demonstrating the transfer of supercooled propellant between two orbiting Starships—another unprecedented maneuver. The gargantuan spacecraft will need to make at least one uncrewed trip to the moon before a Starship human landing system (HLS) deposits NASA astronauts at the lunar south pole on the Artemis III mission, scheduled for mid-2027.

“Spaceflight is not easy. It’s anything but routine,” outgoing NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said Thursday in a post on X. “That’s why these tests are so important—each one bringing us closer on our path to the moon and onward to Mars through #Artemis.”

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