SpaceX Starship rocket explodes in setback to Musk's Mars mission

SpaceX's massive Starship spacecraft exploded into a dramatic fireball during testing in Texas late on Wednesday, the latest in a series of setbacks for billionaire Elon Musk's Mars rocket program.
The explosion occurred around 11 p.m. local time while Starship was on a test stand at its Brownsville, Texas Starbase while preparing for the tenth test flight, SpaceX said in a post on Musk's social-media platform X.
The company attributed it to a "major anomaly,' and said all personnel were safe.
'Preliminary data suggests that a nitrogen COPV in the payload bay failed below its proof pressure,' Musk said in a post on X, in a reference to a nitrogen gas storage unit known as a Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessel. 'If further investigation confirms that this is what happened, it is the first time ever for this design,' he continued.
SpaceX didn't immediately respond to a request for further comment. The Starship rocket appeared to experience at least two explosions in quick succession, lighting up the night sky and sending debris flying, according to video capturing the moment it exploded. The 400-foot (122-meter) tall Starship rocket system is at the core of Musk's goal of sending humans to Mars. But it has been beset by a string of failures this year. In late May, SpaceX's Starship rocket spun out of control about halfway through a flight without achieving some of its most important testing goals. The Starship lifted off from SpaceX's Starbase, Texas, launch site, flying beyond the point of two previous explosive attempts earlier this year that sent debris streaking over Caribbean islands and forced dozens of airliners to divert course. Two months earlier, the spacecraft exploded in space minutes after lifting off from Texas, prompting the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to halt air traffic in parts of Florida.
Videos on social media showed fiery debris streaking through the dusk skies near south Florida and the Bahamas after Starship broke up in space shortly after it began to spin uncontrollably with its engines cut off, a SpaceX live stream of the mission showed. Musk called that explosion "a minor setback."
The FAA said earlier this month that it had closed an agency-required investigation into the mishap, citing the probable cause as a hardware failure in one of the engines. SpaceX identified eight corrective actions to prevent a recurrence and the FAA said it verified SpaceX implemented those prior to the late May Starship mission. In January, a Starship rocket broke up in space minutes after launching from Texas, raining debris over Caribbean islands and causing minor damage to a car in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
(Reporting by Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru and Cassel Bryan-Low in London; Editing by Joe Brock, Aidan Lewis, Alexandra Hudson)

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Arabian Business

23 minutes ago

• Arabian Business

European space ambitions need Gulf partners

I f Europe wants to stand on its own two feet, it must look up – literally. Space, once associated only with exploration – or, more cynically – national vanity projects, has become crucial to the economic health, security, and soft power of any government, national or regional. That's one reason why Josef Aschbacher, head of the European Space Agency, has called for more investment in the sector. Europe, he argues, cannot afford to lag behind. The ambition to be 'strategically autonomous' and shape its own future depends on catching up in an area where other powers, the U.S. and China most notably, are pulling ahead. Space technology, it's crucial to note, is not just about satellites and rockets even though culturally, that's often what comes to mind when people think about it. This perception has been strengthened by Elon Musk's SpaceX, which communicates aggressively around its many launches. Space in fact touches everything from military equipment and weapons to communications infrastructure to environmental monitoring and supply chain efficiency. A recent study published by the World Economic Forum and McKinsey underscored how 'space-based technologies are revolutionising the supply chain, transportation, and mobility sectors, positioning them as the fastest-growing segment of the global space economy.' In these areas, Europe has some of the world's best engineers. But it consistently fails to support the companies where they work with meaningful investment. Compare this situation with that of the Middle East. The Gulf region has become a surprising contender in the new space race. The UAE and Saudi Arabia, once absent from this arena, are now outspending many of their Western counterparts and making rapid progress. In just over a decade, they have poured $25 billion into the field, and that is expected to grow to $75 billion by 2032. First, national security remains essential. Secondly, they need to plan for the post-oil era. The Gulf economies rely heavily on oil, and they will be in deep trouble if they do not diversify their economies. Thirdly, they need to prepare the labour market for the twin challenges of automation and climate change. They are also closely aligned with strategic initiatives: AI, autonomous systems. Space covers all of these. It promises robust security, long-time prosperity, and future-proof jobs, as well as national prestige and the tools to adapt to an uncertain world. But the Middle East and Europe need not see themselves as rivals. The Gulf states are actively looking for partners; they want to develop their space infrastructure further. They are becoming global hubs of innovation. And Europe, with its highly skilled, highly educated workforce and depth in advanced technology, should be an obvious ally in this undertaking. A paradigm shift is underway: those countries that fail to see how much more the Middle East is than a source of capital will fall far behind. Europe would benefit from the support. It has many promising space companies developing world-beating dual-use technologies. With more funding and backing, they could scale rapidly: ICEYE, one of Europe's most exciting space companies, has benefitted hugely from its presence in the Gulf. Growing fast would stop lesser companies in other nations from appearing, gaining more funding, and out-scaling them. In the United States, small, innovative companies have long been seen as the key to remaining at the forefront of innovation, and those companies receive generous funding for that reason. In Europe, procurement processes badly need rethinking, and there is still some hesitation around investing in defence, which often overlaps with space. There was a time when the Middle East was viewed (wrongly, even then) as a source of oil money and little else. That has changed: it is now widely viewed as a genuine industrial power, as well as a large and growing market and a vital bridge and trading point between East and West. If Europe were to collaborate with the United Arab Emirates, it could get much more than funding. The Gulf is vast, with open landscapes and a climate perfectly suited for the testing of advanced, satellite-based tech. Europe is densely packed and its regulations are stringent. The Gulf, for its part, would gain European know-how, which would accelerate its development in space. Jobs, knowledge transfer and commercial opportunities would also follow. So a strong Europe–Middle East alliance in space would serve both sides: creating economic opportunities, reducing dependency on unpredictable allies, and developing infrastructure that will define the next century. It's a win-win. The Middle East is ready and waiting. It has shown that it's looking ahead to the future, and it is eager to join hands with countries and regions for mutual advantage: the slew of multibillion-dollar U.S. tech deals struck by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar shows that. Europe, which for a long time has relied on others, and has been able to invest in its social infrastructure due to the promise of U.S. military support, badly needs to work with other countries to ensure its security and the quality of life of its citizens. It should act now. The clock is ticking.

Gulf Today

an hour ago

• Gulf Today

SpaceX Starship test ends in explosion at Starbase in Texas

One of Elon Musk's SpaceX Starships exploded during a routine test in Texas late on Wednesday, law enforcement officials said, in the latest setback to the billionaire's dream of turning humanity into an interplanetary species. The Starship 36 suffered "catastrophic failure and exploded" at the Starbase launch facility shortly after 11:00pm (0400 GMT Thursday), a Facebook post by Cameron County authorities said. A video shared with the post showed the megarocket attached to the launch arm and then a flash and a towering, fiery explosion. Musk's Space X said the rocket was preparing for the tenth flight test when it "experienced a major anomaly while on a test stand at Starbase," without elaborating on the nature of the complication. Flames rise as a SpaceX rocket explodes in Brownsville, Texas, late on Wednesday in this screengrab obtained from a social media video. Reuters "A safety clear area around the site was maintained throughout the operation and all personnel are safe and accounted for," Space X said on social media. "There are no hazards to residents in surrounding communities, and we ask that individuals do not attempt to approach the area while safing operations continue." The Starship was not scheduled for launch on Wednesday evening when the explosion occurred during a "routine static fire test," according to the Cameron County authorities. A vehicle passes below the contrail remaining from a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket after launching from Vandenberg Space Force Base carrying 26 Starlink internet satellites as seen from Pasadena. AFP During a static fire, part of the procedures preceding a launch, the Starship's Super Heavy booster would be anchored to the ground to prevent it from lifting off during the test-firing. Starbase, on the south Texas coast near the border with Mexico, is the headquarters for Musk's space project. Musk appeared to downplay the incident early on Thursday. "Just a scratch," he posted on his social media platform X, although without context it was unclear if he was referring to the fiery explosion of the rocket. Agence France-Presee

The National

19 hours ago

• The National

Bans and fees cut plastic bag waste in the environment, study reveals

Stricter plastic bag policies have cut the amount of litter in the environment, a US study has found, which could indicate the UAE may also see improvements thanks to its own restrictions. The research found that in areas of the US where restrictions had been introduced, plastic bags accounted for a reduced proportion of shoreline waste. More than 100 countries have imposed plastic bag bans or fees, and while these have reduced consumption, researchers behind the new paper said that until now their effectiveness at actually cutting plastic waste in the environment had not been confirmed. Scientists looked at data from more than 45,000 shoreline clean-up operations in the US and measured this alongside the plastic bag policies that were in place. They considered hundreds of statewide and more localised plastic rules brought in between 2017 and 2023. They found that in areas with restrictions, there was a 25 per cent to 47 per cent decrease in plastic bags as a share of all waste collected, compared to areas without limits. One of the study's two authors, Dr Anna Papp, of Columbia University in New York, told The National she was 'surprised to see how effective plastic bag policies have been in reducing plastic bag shoreline litter', given that many factors – such as consumer behaviour and waste management – influenced a plastic bag's journey. 'However, it's important to note that these policies don't completely eliminate plastic bags in the environment but do help mitigate it,' she added. Fees not fines The other author, Dr Kimberly Oremus, an associate professor at the University of Delaware, said the results suggested fees for plastic bags may be more effective than bans. 'We can only say definitively that both [fees and bans] are effective,' she said. 'And both full bans and fees are more effective than partial bans. 'We hypothesise that fees may cover more retailers than full bans, such as take-out bags from restaurants, and fees can be used as revenue to clean-up shorelines.' The study also indicates that wildlife entanglement might fall between 30 per cent and 37 per cent when plastic bag policies are in place, although the researchers said they had limited data on this. Other scientists not linked to the new study have backed up its findings. Dr Marcus Eriksen, co-founder of the 5 Gyres Institute, a US-based organisation that researches plastic pollution and works to reduce it, said the effects of plastic bag policies had been seen in southern California, where he lives. 'I witnessed the 10-year battle to ban plastic bags across the state,' he said. 'There were sceptics about the effectiveness, but the data came in from shoreline clean-ups and we saw a significant decline in plastic bags present, not only in coastal clean-ups but in municipal data on roadside clean-ups.' Turning the tide The UAE is one of many countries where restrictions have significantly reduced plastic bag use, with the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi having said a ban on single-use plastic bags in the emirate introduced on June 1, 2022 cut the number entering circulation by 364,000. Initiatives to recover and recycle plastic bottles have also been brought in. A ban on single-use plastic bags has been in force in all emirates since 2023, alongside restrictions on other plastic items. Dr Eriksen has previously researched the effect of plastic pollution in the UAE, co-writing a study showing that in many camels, large amounts of plastic, including ropes and bags, have accumulated in their stomachs. He said manufacturers should have to bear some costs associated with the entire lifecycle of plastic bags. 'A good EPR [extended producer responsibility] scheme whereby bag manufacturers contribute to a clean-up fund, in combination with a bag fee, would go a long way to eliminating bag use,' he said. While the latest research indicates that restrictions reduce plastic bag litter, Dr Papp warned this was 'only a small part of the larger plastic pollution problem'. 'Our results show that bag policies' effects are limited to reducing plastic bags and not other plastic items, so they are nowhere close to a solution for eliminating plastic waste in the environment,' she said. 'Addressing the production of plastics alongside consumption and waste, as currently under consideration in the UN Plastics Treaty, is likely crucial for a more comprehensive approach.'