Elon Musk's SpaceX's Umpteenth Mishap Tagged 'A Major Anomaly'
Elon Musk's plans to explore space continue to be a far-fetched dream thanks to repeated technical problems.
The SpaceX founder's Starship suffered another explosion, leaving many to wonder if his plans to visit Mars should be put to rest.
Elon Musk's company, SpaceX, experienced its latest incident on Wednesday, June 18, at the Texas Starbase facility near Boca Chica Beach.
Musk's SpaceX foundation confirmed the explosion on X, revealing the shocking mishap happened at approximately 11 p.m. CT. "The Starship preparing for the tenth flight test experienced a major anomaly while on a test stand at Starbase," they explained.
"A safety clear area around the site was maintained throughout the operation, and all personnel are safe and accounted for. Our Starbase team is actively working to save the test site and the immediate surrounding area in conjunction with local officials," the message continued.
Musk's company confirmed that the residents in surrounding communities were not harmed. Nonetheless, they warned people not to approach the explosion area until their safety operations were completed. TMZ shared a video capturing the incident, showing the rocket exploding into a fiery flame upon take-off.
According to reports, residents miles from the Texas Starbase facility near Boca Chica Beach felt the powerful explosion. The list included someone in Brownsville, about 22 miles from the testing site, who captured and posted about the eruption on social media.
Although SpaceX claimed their tenth launch test failure was a "major anomaly," it wasn't the first time their Starship had exploded. Musk's company's 7th and 8th launch tests also ended in terrifying explosions, with the most recent incident occurring last month.
The Starship rocket, hyped by the company as the world's most powerful launch vehicle ever developed, exploded upon re-entry into orbit. Given the multiple mishaps, many wondered if Musk was in over his head with his space exploration plans.
Many shared their thoughts about Musk's latest mishap underneath the SpaceX announcement, having mixed feelings about his company's goals. "What an absolute failure. Good luck securing more public funding for more failures like this in the future," a critic penned.
"Honestly, the 'fail fast' thing is kinda overrated... SpaceX just has crazy funding to blow stuff up lol," another critic claimed. A third wondered if the "anomaly" was sabotage, while others implored Musk not to give up on his Mars conquest. "Data gathered is the most important thing. Otherwise minor setback," a fan declared.
A fellow supporter echoed similar sentiments, writing, "Anomaly? Yes. Delay? Maybe. But if you're building a 9-million-pound rocket to colonize Mars and nothing blows up once in a while, you're not pushing hard enough. Starbase is safe. Starship is iterating. The mission is still a go."
When Musk's Starship exploded in March, it caused multiple air travel disruptions. The Blast covered the story, reporting that the rocket blew up during a live stream of its test launch in Texas. The spacecraft's engines shut down shortly after the booster had been successfully retrieved at the launch tower.
Dan Huot, SpaceX's communications manager, explained during the live broadcast that the loss of engine power had resulted in the loss of the spacecraft's altitude control. The situation escalated as the rocket began to spin, ending in a complete loss of communication and subsequent explosion.
During the incident, multiple media sources reported that flights from Miami International Airport, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, and Philadelphia International Airport experienced delays due to debris from a space launch.
Smaller airports in West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, and Orlando, Florida, were also affected.
Musk's SpaceX company wasn't the only foundation experiencing delays in its plans, with the tech billionaire's Austin factory suffering multiple closures. According to Business Insider, Tesla informed workers in a meeting early this month that the company would shut down its Cybertruck production.
The pause in production is reportedly scheduled to begin the week of June 30 and is expected to resume the following week. During the shutdown, employees could use their paid time off or attend voluntary training and participate in cleaning activities.
However, this was not the first time the Austin factory had closed its doors. Tesla shut down the production of Cybertruck and Model Y lines in late May to hold a voluntary training for its Austin factory employees.
The training reportedly included seminars on improving the work culture at the factory. Another production pause occurred last December over a battery supply issue.
Will Elon Musk's SpaceX Starship achieve successful test launches without more explosions?
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