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A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida on the Axiom Mission 3(Ax-3). This is an illustration and does not depict the Starship rocket which exploded.
SpaceX Starship Explosion: A disaster for Musk’s Mars Programme?
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On Thursday, the test flight that ended in failure occurred nearly two months to the day after a similar accident sent flaming fragments over Turks and Caicos. The debris fell on Florida this time after the huge craft spiraled out of control and broke up.
A towering launch and a turbulent tumble
The 403 foot (123 metre) Starship launched from SpaceX Starbase, Boca Chica in Texas, on March 6, 2025. Initially, it seemed on course for success: the first-stage booster flew back and was snatched mid-air at the pad by SpaceX’s famed giant robotic arms – a remarkable feat of engineering. But the spacecraft below was not so fortunate. The vehicle spun out of control as it barreled eastward. Moments later, ground controllers lost touch.
Starship soared to almost 90 miles (150 kilometres) above Earth – shy of the official boundary of space – before disaster struck. Social media exploded with photos and videos purportedly from the Florida coast, near Cape Canaveral. This suggested that Starship was already in a state of disintegration before it planned ocean splashdown.
SpaceX swiftly confirmed aYou can also find out more about the following:ther ‘rapid unscheduled disassembly,’ a tongue-in-cheek term the company uses to describe an unplanned explosion.
No satellites deployed, no injuries reported
After the craft’s ill-timed breakup, none of the four mock satellites – designed as stand-ins for future real payloads – reached orbit. The test flight was meant to last around an hour. It would culminate with a safe re-entry above the Indian Ocean. Starship’s epic journey ended minutes after it was launched. Fortunately, no serious injuries or damage were reported on the ground, just as in the previous incident.
Elon Musk, SpaceX’s founder, has hoped that Starship will someday ferry humans to Mars. Thursday’s mishap was the eighth test of Starship. NASA has booked the vehicle to be used for future moon missions. The goal is a historic lunar land later in this decade.
