Despite an explosion in mid-air after launch, it’s not over for SpaceX’s Starship

SpaceX’s latest flight test of its colossal Starship craft proved explosive—literally.

While the launch ended in a major achievement—the second successful return of the rocket booster to the launch pad—the Starship spacecraft itself was lost in flight and was seen exploding in the sky. SpaceX later said the unmanned spacecraft was destroyed.

“It served as a reminder that development tests are by definition unpredictable,” the commercial space transportation company said in a mission update on its website.

On his social media X, SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk made light of the burning end.

“Success is uncertain, but entertainment is guaranteed!” Musk sent outalong with a user video of the Starship debris raining down near the Atlantic Ocean. He added in another post that “enhanced versions” of the spacecraft and booster “already await launch.”

Because the short flight took place within a designated launch corridor, no one on the ground was threatened by the explosion. But ahead of SpaceX is an investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration to determine what went wrong during the test, the seventh overall launch of a vehicle that would one day carry humans to the moon and Mars.

Here’s what you need 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 the Starship during the 7th test?

For Thursday’s flight test, SpaceX debuted a new and upgraded model of its 400-foot Starship, consisting of both a 165-foot spacecraft and a 232-foot Super Heavy rocket.

After a short delay, the Starship launched at 5:37 PM EST from SpaceX’s massive Starbase in South Texas.

SpaceX successfully captured the returning rocket booster at the launch tower using giant mechanical arms, called “chopsticks”. The maneuver, which has only been carried out once before during a demonstration in October, was called off in the most recent test in November, which President-elect Donald Trump attended with Musk.

On Thursday, the spacecraft itself was due to soar over the Gulf of Mexico before landing in the Indian Ocean, as in previous test flights. In a first, this time SpaceX had filled the starship with 10 Starlink simulators, which in size and weight correspond to the next generation of Starlink satellites, for an implementation test.

However, mission controllers lost contact with the spacecraft within 8 1/2 minutes of its flight before learning that it was destroyed in what the company called a “quick unplanned disassembly.” Video on social media showed the explosion and its aftermath, as remnants of the spacecraft are seen breaking up in what looks like a fantastic meteor shower.

Explosion not 1. during SpaceX test

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 repeated in the previous two flight tests before Thursday.

SpaceX has spent years building and testing Starship to become a fully reusable launch system capable of carrying people and cargo to Earth orbit, the moon and even Mars.

Under NASA’s lunar exploration plansArtemis III astronauts aboard the Orion capsule would board the starship while in orbit for a trip to the lunar surface. Musk also has big ambitions to send the first Starships to Mars in late 2026, the next time Earth and Mars line up, followed by manned flights in 2028.

In a post on X, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson praised the launch, saying the result will still bring humanity “closer to our path to the moon and on to Mars.”

“Spaceflight isn’t 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’s engine firewall.” Fire suppression will be added to the area, he added, along with additional venting and checking for leaks.

SpaceX said it will also 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 hardly 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 to determine the cause.”

What’s next for Starship? Elon Musk sees more tests in 2025

SpaceX launched just two Starship flight tests in 2023 before increasing the demos to four in 2024, with the last of the year taking place in November.

But that’s nothing compared to what Musk hopes to achieve by 2025.

If Musk has his way, Thursday’s flight test would be the first of a staggering 25 Starship launches this year. Although Musk’s proposal would need approval from federal regulators, it comes as the billionaire tech mogul’s influence over US politics is likely to grow when Trump takes office next week.

The FAA is set to make a decision on SpaceX licenses 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 streamed live.

Contributors: Anthony Robledo.

Eric Lagatta covers the latest and trending news for USA TODAY. Contact him at [email protected]

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Spaceship explosion isn’t the end for SpaceX rocket: What’s next?