SpaceX’s Starship exploded in space minutes after liftoff from Texas, scattering debris over the Caribbean and prompting an FAA investigation into the failure.
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| SpaceX’s Starship exploded in space for the second time this year, scattering debris over the Caribbean and triggering an FAA investigation into the failure. Image: Captured from collected Video |
Boca Chica, Texas, US — March 7, 2025:
SpaceX’s Starship exploded in space on Thursday, just minutes after launching from Texas, scattering debris over the Caribbean in the second failure this year for Elon Musk’s Mars rocket program. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) briefly halted flights in parts of Florida and launched an investigation into the incident.
The 403-foot (123-meter) rocket lifted off from SpaceX’s Boca Chica facility at 6:30 p.m. ET (2330 GMT). Its Super Heavy booster successfully returned to Earth, but the upper stage lost control, spinning wildly in space before contact was lost. SpaceX later confirmed that an “energetic event” in the aft section had caused multiple engine shutdowns, leading to a total loss of attitude control.
Videos on social media showed fiery debris streaking across the skies near South Florida and the Bahamas. SpaceX assured that the wreckage contained no toxic materials.
The FAA, which regulates private rocket launches, said SpaceX must identify the cause of the failure and receive regulatory approval before another test flight. The latest explosion comes just weeks after the previous Starship test also ended in mid-flight destruction, raining debris over Caribbean islands and causing minor damage in the Turks and Caicos.
Starship is central to Musk’s vision of sending humans to Mars as early as the next decade. Thursday’s mission aimed to complete an orbital flight and re-enter over the Indian Ocean, a key step toward future land-based reentries. Despite repeated failures, SpaceX insists that each test provides valuable data for refining the rocket’s design.