Elon Musk Weighs In On SpaceX Starship’s ‘Rapid Unplanned Dismantling’

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk took to X Thursday night to explain what his company believes may have caused part of the Starship rocket to experience a “rapid unplanned disassembly.”

The upper stage of the SpaceX Starship rocket exploded during a flight test his space company conducted late Thursday afternoon from its Starbase in Texas.

“Preliminary indication is that we had an oxygen/fuel leak in the cavity above the marine engine firewall that was large enough to build pressure beyond venting capacity,” he wrote.

In a post on its website, SpaceX said the “rapid unplanned disassembly” occurred after the upper stage successfully separated from the Starship’s Super Heavy booster and began its “ascent burn” to space. It lost telemetry with the upper stage “after approximately eight and a half minutes of flight,” according to the company.

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“Initial data indicates a fire developed in the aft part of the ship, leading to a rapid unplanned disassembly,” SpaceX said.

Footage apparently showing debris from the Starship rocket in the sky was posted on social media. The video captured pieces leaving red and white trails in the sky overhead in Turks and Caicos.

“In addition to obviously double-checking for leaks, we will add fire suppression to that volume and probably increase the vent area,” Musk also said at X, adding that “nothing so far suggests pushing the next launch past next month.”

Tesla CEO Elon Musk leaves the Phillip Burton Federal Building on January 24, 2023 in San Francisco, California. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images/Getty Images)

SpaceX said turret arms successfully captured the Starship’s Super Heavy booster during the flight test.

Thursday’s launch marked the seventh that SpaceX has performed for its Starship rocket in the past about two years. In November, when SpaceX completed its sixth test, President-elect Trump came to watch.

A visitor walks near the launch site of the SpaceX Starship rocket on January 14, 2025, near Boca Chica, Texas. (Sergio Flores/AFP via Getty Images/Getty Images)

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“As always, success comes from what we learn, and this flight test will help us improve Starship reliability as SpaceX seeks to make life multiplanetary,” SpaceX said. “Data review is already underway as we seek to determine the cause. We will conduct a thorough investigation, in coordination with the FAA, and implement corrective actions to make improvements on future Starship flight tests.”

Prelaunch testing and preparations are already underway for SpaceX’s planned eighth flight test of Starship, the company said. Construction of the ship and booster for that mission has been done.

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SpaceX’s seventh Starship flight test came on the same day that rival Blue Origin, founded by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, had the first launch of its New Glenn rocket under its belt.

The Blue Origin launch took place in Cape Canaveral, Florida.