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Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Science
- Yahoo
'Major anomaly': Elon Musk's Starship rocket blows up again
STORY: SpaceX called it a 'major anomaly'… One of Elon Musk's giant Starship rockets has exploded again. This eyewitness video released Thursday shows the moment of the incident, which occurred late at night the day before. SpaceX says the explosion happened during preparations for the rocket's tenth test flight. It said no personnel were injured, and it had teams working to ensure safety in the area surrounding the site in Brownsville, Texas. The firm said there was no hazard to local communities, but asked people not to approach the area. It's all the latest setback for Musk's ambitions to mount a mission to Mars. And it adds to a very bad year for the Starship program. In January, one of the rockets broke up after launch, raining debris over the Caribbean. In March, one exploded in space, forcing aviation watchdogs to halt air traffic over parts of Florida. Then in May, another one spun out of control halfway through its mission. Posting on X, Musk said the new failure appeared to be connected to an onboard nitrogen gas storage system. Now it all comes at a bad moment for the billionaire, after his spectacular public falling out with U.S. President Donald Trump. Reuters sources say the White House subsequently ordered the Defense Department and NASA to conduct a review of their multi-billion dollar contracts with SpaceX. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Japan Times
13 hours ago
- Science
- Japan Times
SpaceX Starship rocket explodes in setback to Musk's Mars mission
SpaceX's massive Starship spacecraft exploded in 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. Its engineering teams were investigating the incident, and it was coordinating with local, state and federal agencies regarding environmental and safety impacts, the company said. "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. 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.
Yahoo
16 hours ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Mega rocket explodes in Texas night sky, marks series of SpaceX setbacks
In what the company called "a major anomaly" SpaceX's Starship exploded late Wednesday, June 18, shooting a massive fireball and giant debris into the Texas night sky. The explosion is not the first for SpaceX and comes on the heels of a string of set backs for the 400-foot rocket system this year. The company designs, builds and manufactures advanced rockets with the end goal of enabling people to live on other planets. The blast took place about 11 p.m. local time during testing for the mega rocket in Brownsville, a city in Cameron County on the state's southwest Gulf Coast, SpaceX announced on X. Starship, "experienced a major anomaly while on a test stand," the post reads. "Our Starbase team is actively working to safe the test site and the immediate surrounding area in conjunction with local officials." The company, founded in 2002 by Elon Musk, reported no injuries in the blast but asked people to avoid the area as a precaution. "There are no hazards to residents in surrounding communities," the post continues. USA TODAY has reached out to SpaceX for more information. The official cause of the blast remained under investigation on June 19, 2025. 'Preliminary data suggests that a nitrogen COPV in the payload bay failed below its proof pressure,' Musk said in a post on X, referencing a composite overwrapped pressure vessel (a nitrogen gas storage unit). 'If further investigation confirms that this is what happened, it is the first time ever for this design." Just one day earlier, on June 17, Musk's company posted video on X of a "single-engine static fire demonstrating an in-space burn" as Starship prepared for its 10th flight test. Video captured of the incident shows the rocket appeared to experience least two explosions in quick succession. As Iran supreme leader warns America: Trump teases possible US strike The last Starship explosion took place May 27, 2025, on its ninth flight when a "rapid unscheduled disassembly" occurred about an hour after blasting off. The vehicle successfully launched but contact with it was lost about 46 minutes into the flight as it spun out of control about halfway and then came apart. Its debris dropped into the Indian Ocean, SpaceX said. Flight tests also unexpectedly exploded in January and March 2025. During those incidents, vehicles used in the tests met their demise in dramatic explosions that sent cascades of fiery debris across the sky in Florida and across the Caribbean. The upper stage, the vehicle where astronauts and cargo would ride, separated minutes into its flight during the ascent. During three tests between June and November 2024, Starship flew halfway around the world before reentering Earth's atmosphere and landing safely as planned in the Indian Ocean. Bezos vs. Musk? How Amazon's Kuiper satellites look to compete with SpaceX, Starlink Musk's space exploration company is working for Starship to be a fully reusable transportation system, meaning both the rocket and vehicle can return to earth for additional missions. In the end, the goal is for Starship to carry cargo and humans far into the cosmos. Musk plans for Starship to reach Mars by the end of 2026, with hopes human expeditions aboard the vehicle would follow in the years after the first uncrewed spacecraft reaches the Red Planet. Contributing: Cheryl McCloud and Reuters Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@ and follow her on X @nataliealund. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: SpaceX Starship rocket explodes in setback to Elon Musk's Mars mission
ABC News
16 hours ago
- Science
- ABC News
SpaceX Starship rocket explodes in latest setback to Musk's Mars mission
SpaceX's massive Starship spacecraft has exploded in a dramatic fireball during testing in Texas. It is the latest in a series of setbacks for billionaire Elon Musk's Mars rocket program. The explosion occurred about 11pm local time while Starship was on a test stand at its Brownsville, Texas Starbase. The spacecraft was preparing for its 10th test flight, SpaceX said in a post on Mr Musk's social media platform X. The company attributed it to a "major anomaly", and said all personnel were safe. Mr Musk said preliminary data suggested a nitrogen gas storage unit, known as a "composite overwrapped pressure vessel", had "failed below its proof pressure". "If further investigation confirms that this is what happened, it is the first time ever for this design," he said in a post on X. SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for further comment from Reuters. The Starship rocket appeared to experience at least two explosions in quick succession, lighting up the night sky and sending debris flying. The 122-metre rocket system is at the core of Mr Musk's goal to send 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 launch site, flying beyond the point of two previous explosive attempts 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 US 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. Mr Musk said the explosion was "a minor setback". The FAA said this month it had closed an agency-required investigation into the mishap, citing a hardware failure in one of the engines as the probable cause. 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. Reuters
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Science
- Yahoo
SpaceX Starship rocket explodes in setback to Musk's Mars mission
(Reuters) -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.
