Latest news with #SouthTexas
Yahoo
16 hours ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Elon Musk's 3-Word Response To SpaceX Starship Explosion
Although the SpaceX Dragon and its Falcon 9 rocket have proven to be a reliable spacecraft, and somewhat crucial to the ferrying of American astronauts to and from space, Elon Musk's other, more ambitious spacecraft, Starship, has been less-than-successful. On Wednesday, June 18, the latest Starship suffered an explosion, destroying the craft. No humans were harmed during the accident, which SpaceX officially referred to as "a major anomaly." This was the 10th planned test flight for the Starship craft, which exploded in what and others have called a "fireball" at the Starbase site in South Texas. You can see the fiery footage via NASA Space Flight on X below: Perhaps somewhat predictably, SpaceX owner Elon Musk's reaction to this incident some relatively nonchalant. Posting on X after the incident, Musk's response on Thursday morning was merely: "Just a scratch." This is the third major setback from the Starship project this year. In January, March, and May, Starship flights have seen setbacks, though this was the first of the Starship flights to have explosive problems while on the launch pad. On Flights 7 and 8, the Starship rocket exploded after liftoff. The case of the most recent explosion is thought to be the result of what is called a "static fire," a common relaunch test in which the boosters of the rocket are ignited while the craft is still on the ground. It appears that Starship 36 was destroyed by a malfunction during this process. The next SpaceX launch is the private spaceflight Axiom Space Ax-4 mission, which is set to launch on a Falcon 9 rocket with a Dragon capsule on Sunday, June 22, at roughly 3:42 a.m. ET. That launch will happen at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. As mentioned, historically, SpaceX's Falcon 9 rockets are much more reliable than anything that has happened with Starship so Musk's 3-Word Response To SpaceX Starship Explosion first appeared on Men's Journal on Jun 19, 2025
Yahoo
16 hours ago
- Science
- Yahoo
SpaceX's Starship explodes on Texas launch pad in 'catastrophic failure' during routine test
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. SpaceX's Starship has exploded once again — adding to a growing list of setbacks for the company's rocket. The upper stage of the rocket, the largest ever built, was undergoing routine testing to prepare for its 10th test flight at SpaceX's South Texas Starbase site on Wednesday night (June 18) when it "suffered a catastrophic failure and exploded," local authorities wrote on Facebook. The gigantic fireball adds to a string of recent headaches for the rocket's upper stages. The ship exploded mid-flight during two previous test flights in January and March, and fell to pieces during an earlier-than-planned reentry in May. In a post on X, SpaceX has attributed the latest explosion to "a major anomaly while on a test stand at Starbase," yet the exact cause of the malfunction is unclear. "A safety clear area around the site was maintained throughout the operation and all personnel are safe and accounted for," SpaceX added in the post. "Our Starbase team is actively working to safe the test site and the immediate surrounding area in conjunction with local officials. There are no hazards to residents in surrounding communities, and we ask that individuals do not attempt to approach the area while safing [sic] operations continue." Starship is key to SpaceX majority shareholder Elon Musk's ambitions to transport spacecraft, crew members, satellites and cargo into orbit around Earth and to the moon and Mars. Related: 'Catastrophic' SpaceX Starship explosion tore a hole in the atmosphere last year in 1st-of-its-kind event, Russian scientists reveal Standing 403 feet (123 meters) tall and propelled by a record-breaking 16.5 million pounds (7.5 million kilograms) of thrust from its 33-engine Super Heavy booster rocket, Starship can carry 10 times the payload of SpaceX's current Falcon 9 rockets. Designed primarily with affordable and efficient manufacturing in mind, the gargantuan rocket uses inexpensive stainless steel for its construction and methane — which SpaceX claims can be collected on Mars — to power the rocket. RELATED STORIES —New NASA robot with X-ray vision will watch Earth 'breathing' from the moon —NASA and Japan launch world's 1st wooden satellite into orbit. Here's why it could help solve a huge problem for our planet. —James Webb Space Telescope quiz: How well do you know the world's most powerful telescope? These early failures are unlikely to deter SpaceX from further developing the rocket. Musk announced in March that he expects the ship to carry Tesla's Optimus humanoid robots to Mars by the end of 2026, and the rocket is also set to carry some of the Starlab private space station into orbit once the International Space Station retires after 2030. SpaceX has also won around $4 billion in NASA contracts to develop the Human Landing System (HLS). This is a lunar lander variant of the spacecraft, and has been selected by NASA to carry American astronauts to the moon aboard the 2027 Artemis III mission — the first time humans will have walked on the moon in more than 50 years. The impact of yesterday's explosion on SpaceX's launch date for Starship's 10th flight is unclear. Currently, the company is investigating what happened to cause Flight 9's failed reentry alongside the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration.
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Science
- Yahoo
WATCH: SpaceX Starship explodes during engine test
A SpaceX Starship spacecraft exploded overnight during a rocket engine test in Texas. Video shows a massive fireball as the rocket ignited. The company said the rocket 'experienced a major anomaly' while doing a rocket engine test fire. It happened at SpaceX's Starbase launch site in southern Texas. SpaceX says there was a safety zone around the area during the operation, and all personnel are safe. Officials said there was no danger to nearby communities and asked people to stay away from the site. This isn't the first issue for the SpaceX Starship rocket. Two of the three most recent flights ended in explosions before the massive spacecraft could reach its planned flight path. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Science
- Yahoo
SpaceX's Starship explodes in Texas during preparations for 10th test flight
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. SpaceX's newest Starship vehicle just went up in smoke. The company was testing a Starship upper stage at its Starbase site in South Texas on Wednesday night (June 18), to prepare for the megarocket's upcoming 10th flight test. But something went very wrong, as video captured by shows: The vehicle exploded, sending a massive fireball high into the dark Texas skies. SpaceX acknowledged the incident in an X post early on Thursday morning (June 19), noting that it occurred around 11 p.m. local time (midnight EDT and 0400 GMT on June 19). "A safety clear area around the site was maintained throughout the operation and all personnel are safe and accounted for," SpaceX added in the post. "Our Starbase team is actively working to safe the test site and the immediate surrounding area in conjunction with local officials. 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." SpaceX is developing Starship, the biggest and most powerful rocket ever built, to help humanity colonize Mars, among other ambitious exploration tasks. The vehicle consists of two elements, both of which are designed to be fully and rapidly reusable — a first-stage booster called Super Heavy and a 171-foot-tall (52 meters) upper-stage spacecraft known as Starship, or simply Ship. It was Ship that exploded on Wednesday night, on a test stand at Starbase's Massey site (not the orbital launch mount, from which Starship liftoffs occur). According to NASASpaceflight, which closely monitors Starship activity at Starbase, the anomaly occurred just before Ship was set to perform a static-fire test. Static fires are common prelaunch tests, in which a rocket's engines are briefly ignited while the vehicle remains anchored to the ground. SpaceX had already conducted a static fire with this Ship, though that trial involved just one of its Raptor engines; this test may have been intended to fire up all six of them. SpaceX has also already static-fired the Flight 10 Super Heavy booster, successfully igniting all 33 of its Raptors. Related Stories: — SpaceX reached space with Starship Flight 9 launch, then lost control of its giant spaceship (video) — Starship and Super Heavy explained — Elon Musk says SpaceX will launch its biggest Starship yet this year, but Mars in 2026 is '50/50' Wednesday night's explosion continued a string of setbacks for Starship upper stages. Ship has broken apart on the last three Starship test flights, which launched in January, March and May of this year. On Flight 7 and Flight 8, the "rapid unscheduled disassembly" occurred less than 10 minutes after liftoff. Ship flew significantly farther on Flight 9; SpaceX lost contact with the vehicle about 46 minutes after liftoff, and its pieces are likely resting on the Indian Ocean seabed. Super Heavy has performed better. On Flight 7 and Flight 8, for example, the booster returned to Starbase after launch for a dramatic catch by the launch tower's "chopstick" arms. The Flight 7 Super Heavy flew again on Flight 9, notching a major reusability milestone for the Starship program. (SpaceX did not attempt to recover the booster on Flight 9, and it broke apart as it was coming in for a planned "hard splashdown" in the Gulf of Mexico.) SpaceX is still looking into what happened on Flight 9, an investigation overseen by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration. So there was not yet an official target launch date for Starship Flight 10 — and, if there had been, it would now have to be revised after the events of Wednesday night.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Science
- Yahoo
See moment SpaceX Starship rocket explodes
An explosion occurred late Wednesday night at SpaceX's Starbase facility in South Texas. A Starship rocket preparing for its tenth flight test experienced a 'major anomaly,' SpaceX says. There were no injuries and all employees are accounted for, according to SpaceX. The cause of the explosion and the extent of any damage are unclear. CNN has reached out to local police and fire departments for more information.
