Latest news with #SpaceXStarship
Time of India
4 hours ago
- Science
- Time of India
Elon Musk's 'three-word' reply on SpaceX test rocket explosion
(Source:X) (Source:X) 1 2 A SpaceX Starship upper stage exploded during a routine engine test at the company's Starbase facility in South Texas earlier this week, resulting in the complete loss of the spacecraft and damage to the surrounding test stand area, SpaceX confirmed. The incident occurred around 11 p.m. local time on June 19, just before the planned 10th flight test of the 403-foot Starship, the world's largest and most powerful rocket. Designed to be fully reusable, Starship is a critical part of SpaceX CEO Elon Musk 's vision to colonize Mars. The vehicle comprises a Super Heavy booster and a 171-foot upper-stage spacecraft, intended to succeed SpaceX's Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets for diverse space missions. In a statement posted on Twitter, SpaceX described the explosion as a 'major anomaly' during preparations at Starbase. The company emphasized that a safety perimeter was maintained, and no injuries were reported. 'All personnel are safe and accounted for,' SpaceX said, adding that its team is working with local authorities to secure the site and assess environmental and safety impacts. The company confirmed that materials inside Starship pose no chemical, biological, or toxicological risks, and there are no hazards to nearby Rio Grande Valley communities. Responding to a post on the explosion, Elon Musk wrote: 'Room for improvement' This setback follows a May 2025 incident where a Starship prototype broke apart after losing altitude control due to engine failures during ascent, scattering debris over the Atlantic Ocean and causing temporary flight disruptions in Florida, as reported by the Federal Aviation Administration. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Cost of Stair Lifts in 2025 Leaf Home Safety Solutions Get Rates Undo SpaceX's challenges coincide with delays in other missions. On Friday, the International Space Station announced that the Axiom-4 mission, which includes Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla, was postponed again. Originally set for June 19, the launch was rescheduled to June 22 due to issues with a Falcon 9 spacecraft but has now been delayed further, with NASA, Axiom Space, and SpaceX evaluating new launch dates. SpaceX is coordinating with federal, state, and local agencies to address the Starship incident's aftermath while continuing its ambitious push toward interplanetary travel. AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
USA Today
5 hours ago
- Science
- USA Today
SpaceX Starship exploded again. What's next for Elon Musk's company after latest setback?
SpaceX Starship exploded again. What's next for Elon Musk's company after latest setback? This time, the mishap didn't even occur during a launch, but rather during a test to prepare Starship for its 10th overall flight since 2023 from Starbase in South Texas. Show Caption Hide Caption SpaceX's Starship 36 explodes after 'major anomaly' SpaceX's Starship 36 exploded during a routine static fire test after experiencing a 'major anomaly.' Starship is regarded as the world's largest and most powerful launch vehicle ever developed. SpaceX is developing it for human spaceflights to the moon and Mars. The explosion occurred around 11 p.m. local time June 18, 2025, while SpaceX was preparing for Starship's upcoming flight test, known as Flight 10. The latest mishap comes as SpaceX is planning to increase the number of Starship launches after receiving key regulatory approval to do so. SpaceX's massive Starship exploded in a spectacular fiery blaze during a routine engine test in Texas – raising questions about what's next for Elon Musk's spaceflight company. The dramatic explosion marked the latest setback for SpaceX, which billionaire Musk founded in 2002, after Starship has failed to repeat the successes of previous missions in its first three test flights of 2025. This time, the mishap didn't occur during a launch, but rather during a test to prepare the rocket for its 10th overall flight since 2023. The spacecraft, standing nearly 400 feet tall when fully stacked, did not injure or endanger anyone when it exploded in a fireball that could be seen for miles, SpaceX said. Musk, whose public rift with President Donald Trump recently cast into doubt the future of the U.S. spaceflight program, appeared to initially make light of the mishap – saying "Just a scratch" in a post on social media site X, which he owns. Here's what to know about the latest Starship explosion, and what could be next for a vehicle critical to both NASA and Musk's plans for human spaceflights in the years ahead. What is Starship? How big is the rocket? Starship is regarded as the world's largest and most powerful launch vehicle ever developed. At more than 400 total feet in height, Starship towers over SpaceX's famous Falcon 9 rocket – one of the world's most active – which stands at nearly 230 feet. The launch vehicle is composed of both a 232-foot Super Heavy rocket and the 171-foot upper stage spacecraft, or capsule where crew and cargo would ride. Super Heavy alone is powered by 33 of SpaceX's Raptor engines that give the initial burst of thrust at liftoff. The upper section, also called Starship or Ship for short, is the upper stage powered by six Raptor engines that will ultimately travel in orbit. SpaceX is developing Starship to be a fully reusable transportation system, meaning both the rocket and vehicle can return to the ground for additional missions. In the years ahead, Starship is intended to carry both cargo and humans to Earth's orbit and deeper into the cosmos. NASA's lunar exploration plans, which appear to be in jeopardy under President Donald Trump's proposed budget, call for Artemis III astronauts aboard the Orion capsule to board the Starship while in orbit for a ride to the moon's surface. SpaceX Starship rocket explodes: What happened? The explosion occurred around 11 p.m. local time Wednesday, June 18, while SpaceX was preparing for Starship's upcoming flight test, known as Flight 10, from Starbase – the company town in South Texas near the U.S.-Mexico border. The Starship spacecraft was standing alone on the test stand prior to being mounted on top of the booster when it blew up. The company attributed it to a "major anomaly,' and said all personnel were safe. Why did the Starship rocket explode? SpaceX test-fires the engines on the Starship before it is mated with Super Heavy. In this case, the Starship vehicle had already undergone a single-engine fire earlier in the week and SpaceX was preparing to test all six when the explosion occurred. The mishap, which SpaceX later referred to on its website as "a sudden energetic event," completely destroyed the spacecraft and ignited several fires that caused damage in the area surrounding the test stand. While SpaceX is investigating the mishap, Musk said in a post on X that preliminary data suggests that a pressurized tank failed at the top of the rocket. 'If further investigation confirms that this is what happened, it is the first time ever for this design,' Musk added. When does Elon Musk envision launching Starship to Mars? Musk has aggressively sought for his commercial spaceflight company to develop its Starship spacecraft to fulfill his ambitious dream of sending the first humans to Mars. In a video SpaceX shared Thursday, May 29, after the most recent Starship test flight, Musk told his employees that he still believes it's feasible to send the first uncrewed Starship to Mars by the end of 2026. Under his vision, human expeditions aboard the Starship could then follow in the years after What's next for Starship testing? But Starship still has a long way to go in its development before it's ready to take humans to the moon or Mars. It does not appear as if the Federal Aviation Administration will not conduct an investigation into the latest explosion since "the activity and anomaly were not associated with licensed activity," the agency said Friday, June 20, in an email to the USA TODAY Network. But in addition to simply being able to fly safely – in other words, without exploding – Starship also needs to be capable of refueling in orbit. The maneuver would be an especially difficult one that's never before been accomplished. SpaceX is planning to increase the number of Starship launches after receiving key regulatory approval to conduct 25 flight tests a year. Just four Starship test missions were conducted in 2024. Following the latest Starship launch in late-May, Musk had previously said the next 3 test flights would occur in quicker succession, with a Starship launch taking place every three to four weeks. How many times has Starship exploded? The previous three missions have fallen far short of previous Starship flight tests. For three tests between June and November 2024, Starship flew halfway around the world before reentering Earth's atmosphere and splashing down as planned in the Indian Ocean. In its most recent demonstration May 27, Starship spun out of control roughly halfway through its flight and disintegrated in a fireball before achieving some of its most important objectives. Still, the distance the vehicle traveled far surpassed the previous 2025 flights in January and March, when Starship exploded within minutes. In both January and March 2025, the vehicles used in the tests instead met their demise in dramatic explosions that sent cascades of fiery debris streaking across the sky in Caribbean countries and Florida – disrupting air traffic. In both cases, the upper stage, the vehicle where astronauts and cargo would ride, came apart mere minutes into its flight during the ascent. While both explosions occurred at about the same point in the flight, the causes were 'distinctly different,' SpaceX said in an update May 22. In the latest fiery mishap in March, it wasn't a fire in the attic, but rather a "flash" closer to the bottom section that caused "an energetic event" that led the vehicle to shut down, lose communication and trigger its own self destruction, SpaceX determined. Contributing: Reuters Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@
Engadget
7 hours ago
- Engadget
The Morning After: Can the golden Trump Phone actually be made in USA?
When the Trump family announced its debut into the glitzy world of phone carriers with Trump Mobile, it came with a phone, too: a not-gold slab called the T1. The biggest heady claim (beyond the fact that its sole $47.25 plan would be 'true value') is: how can any modern smartphone claim to be made in the US? Alex Cranz takes Trump Mobile's sales pitch to task. While we know a lot of the specs, there's no reference to a processor — and that's because practically all smartphone processors are not made in the US. That's just the start. — Mat Smith Get Engadget's newsletter delivered direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here! A SpaceX Starship vehicle has exploded yet again, and this time, the incident occurred before it even took off. NASASpaceflight captured the event in a livestream, wherein you can see the spacecraft (Ship 36) suddenly explode into a fireball after the company tested its forward flap and just before it was supposed to conduct a static fire test. The company said it was due to a 'major anomaly'. Yeah, I'd agree. Continue reading. There's a 1-800 number you can text for ChatGPT images OpenAI has decided that there are not enough ways to generate sloppy AI images with ChatGPT. It announced that users can tap into the image generator by texting 1-800-ChatGPT on WhatsApp. The WhatsApp chatbot is "now available to everyone." Anyone? Continue reading. Framework's latest repairable laptop is a smaller 12-inch model, with the same modular features of its predecessors. With a bright plastic build, it's aimed at students, and there's a lot to like. According to Engadget's Daniel Cooper, it's a little too expensive, especially in the face of the cheap (and disposable) laptops it's looking to supplant. Continue reading. It doesn't look like the usual Garmin affair. The fitness tracking company is getting into bed. Literally. The Index Sleep Monitor offers week-long battery life with continuous pulse ox tracking for monitoring your blood oxygen saturation while you sleep. Garmin's tracker is worn on the upper arm and tracks multiple metrics, including skin temperature, light, deep, and REM sleep stages as well as variations in heart rate and breathing. Skin temperature tracking provides a clearer understanding of how your sleep environment impacts the quality of your sleep, even identifying potential illnesses based on your body temperature. It also features menstrual health tracking, with skin temperature changes useful for tracking cycles. Continue reading.
Iraqi News
12 hours ago
- Science
- Iraqi News
SpaceX Starship explodes on Texas launch pad
Houston – A SpaceX Starship rocket exploded during a routine ground test in Texas late Wednesday, the company said, in the latest setback to billionaire Elon Musk's dream of sending humans to Mars. The explosion — which sent a towering fireball into the air — happened at the Starbase launch facility at about 11:00 pm (0400 GMT Thursday), SpaceX and law enforcement officials said. As the company prepared for a static fire test, 'a sudden energetic event resulted in the complete loss of Starship and damage to the immediate area surrounding the stand,' it said Thursday, updating its initial statement. 'The explosion ignited several fires at the test site which remains clear of personnel,' it said. 'As is the case before any test, a safety zone was established around the test site and was maintained throughout the operation. There are no reported injuries, and all personnel are safe and accounted for.' During a static fire test, part of the procedures preceding a launch, the Starship's first-stage 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. The company was preparing for the 10th test flight of Starship. 'Initial analysis indicates the potential failure of a pressurized tank known as a COPV, or composite overwrapped pressure vessel, containing gaseous nitrogen in Starship's nosecone area, but the full data review is ongoing,' SpaceX said. Musk appeared to downplay the incident on Thursday. 'Just a scratch,' he posted on his social media platform X. – Mega-rocket – Standing 403 feet (123 meters) tall, Starship is the world's largest and most powerful rocket and is central to Musk's long-term vision of building a long-term colony on Mars. The Starship is billed as a fully reusable rocket with a payload capacity of up to 150 metric tons. The latest setback follows the explosion of a prototype Starship over the Indian Ocean in late May. That day, the biggest and most powerful launch vehicle ever built had lifted off from the Starbase facility, but the Super Heavy booster blew up instead of executing its planned splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico. The previous two outings also ended poorly, with the upper stage disintegrating over the Caribbean. However, the failures will likely do little to dent Musk's spacefaring ambitions. SpaceX has been betting that its 'fail fast, learn fast' ethos, which has helped it dominate commercial spaceflight, will eventually pay off. The company has caught the Super Heavy booster in the launch tower's giant robotic arms three times — a daring engineering feat it sees as key to rapid reusability and slashing costs. NASA is also increasingly reliant on SpaceX, whose Dragon spacecraft is vital for ferrying astronauts to and from the International Space Station. SpaceX said Thursday that there are 'no commonalities' between the COPVs used on Starship — the current focus on the investigation — and those used on Falcon. The Federal Aviation Administration approved an increase in annual Starship rocket launches from five to 25 in early May, stating that the increased frequency would not adversely affect the environment. The decision overruled objections from conservation groups that had warned the expansion could endanger sea turtles and shorebirds.
1News
14 hours ago
- Science
- 1News
SpaceX rocket being tested in Texas explodes, no injuries reported
A SpaceX rocket being tested in Texas exploded Thursday, sending a dramatic fireball high into the sky. The company said the Starship "experienced a major anomaly" at about 11pm (local time) while on the test stand preparing for the tenth flight test at Starbase, SpaceX's launch site at the southern tip of Texas. "A safety clear area around the site was maintained throughout the operation and all personnel are safe and accounted for," SpaceX said in a statement on the social platform X. It marked the latest in a series of incidents involving Starship rockets. On January 16, one of the massive rockets broke apart in what the company called a "rapid unscheduled disassembly," sending trails of flaming debris near the Caribbean. Two months later, Space X lost contact with another Starship during a March 6 test flight as the spacecraft broke apart, with wreckage seen streaming over Florida. ADVERTISEMENT A live stream has captured the moment a SpaceX Starship rocket exploded into a gigantic fireball when preparing for a flight test. (Source: Associated Press) Following the back-to-back explosions, one of the 123m Starship rockets, launched from the southern tip of Texas, tumbled out of control and broke apart on March 27. SpaceX had hoped to release a series of mock satellites following lift-off, but that got nixed because the door failed to open all the way. Then the spacecraft began spinning and made an uncontrolled landing in the Indian Ocean. At the time, SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk called the launch "a big improvement" from the two previous demos and promised a much faster launch pace moving forward, with a Starship soaring every three to four weeks for the next three flights. Tesla and SpaceX chief executive officer Elon Musk. (Source: Associated Press) SpaceX said Thursday's explosion posed no hazards to nearby communities. It asked people not to try to approach the site. The company said it is working with local officials to respond to the explosion. ADVERTISEMENT Watch the extended video of the explosion here on TVNZ+.
