SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft explodes midflight for a second time, disrupting Florida air traffic
Relive the SpaceX Starship flight test as it happened.
SpaceX launched the eighth integrated test flight of its gargantuan Starship megarocket system Thursday night. But rather than achieving objectives that fell short during its previous fiery test in January, the eighth flight also ended with a loss of the Starship vehicle.
While the company was successful in capturing a booster from the rocket as it returned to the launch tower, the Starship spacecraft was lost, resulting in a fiery explosion and disruptions to air traffic over Florida.
The uncrewed mission lifted off at 5:30 p.m. CT (6:30 p.m. ET) from SpaceX’s Starbase facility in South Texas. The company had stood down from a Monday launch attempt due to “too many question marks,” according to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, that led to a scrub.
The Starship spacecraft, also referred to as the upper stage, rode atop the 232-foot-tall (71-meter-tall) Super Heavy rocket booster.
Starship was only about 20 seconds away from the end of its ascent burn when SpaceX lost contact with the ship. Several of the engines visibly cut out during the livestream.
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“Once you lose enough of those center engines, you’re going to lose attitude control,” said Dan Huot, SpaceX communications manager. “And so we did see the ship start to go into a spin, and at this point, we have lost contact with the ship.”
The loss of signal occurred at roughly the same point during this mission as with Flight 7, when Starship exploded over populated islands in Turks and Caicos, littering the islands with debris and striking a car.
It has not been confirmed where exactly the vehicle exploded during today’s mission. But the explosion was visible from parts of Florida and occurred over the Caribbean, according to reports from residents of those locations shared with CNN.
The Federal Aviation Administration halted flights into Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Palm Beach, and Orlando airports for “falling space debris” until 8 p.m. ET.
The FAA also kept flights from departing from Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport and Miami International Airport. Flights leaving those airports are still delayed on average by 30 and 45 minutes, respectively.
“We’ve got a lot of measures in place, like debris response areas, where we coordinate very closely with air traffic control,” Huot said. “We have a lot of measures put (in place) before we ever launch a rocket to make sure that we’re keeping the public safe. Those worked last time and they’re actively in work right now.”
The company shared an update several hours after the flight.
“Prior to the end of the ascent burn, an energetic event in the aft portion of Starship resulted in the loss of several Raptor engines,” according to a statement from SpaceX. “This in turn led to a loss of attitude control and ultimately a loss of communications with Starship. Final contact with Starship came approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds after liftoff.”
SpaceX said that Starship flew within a designated launch corridor to ensure the safety of the public.
“Any surviving debris would have fallen within the pre-planned Debris Response Area,” according to the statement. “There are no toxic materials present in the debris and no significant impacts expected to occur to marine species or water quality. If you believe you have identified a piece of debris, please contact your local authorities or the SpaceX Debris Hotline at 1-866-623-0234 or at recovery@spacex.com.”
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Meanwhile, the FAA is requiring SpaceX to perform a mishap investigation into the loss of the Starship vehicle, according to a statement released by the agency.
“A mishap investigation is designed to enhance public safety, determine the root cause of the event, and identify corrective actions to avoid it from happening again,” according to the statement. “The FAA will be involved in every step of the SpaceX-led mishap investigation process and must approve SpaceX’s final report, including any corrective actions. A return to flight is based on the FAA determining that any system, process, or procedure related to the mishap does not affect public safety.”
A Turks and Caicos government account shared an advisory to the public regarding the incident on Instagram.
“We wish to advise the public that this evening’s SpaceX launch appears to have broken up in flight,” the advisory read. “We are in contact with the US FAA, SpaceX and UK agency leads to confirm the position. Post incident protocols have been engaged. The National Security Secretariat will continue to keep the public apprised as we work to ensure the safety and security of our Islands.”
Thursday’s launch occured seven weeks after an explosive mishap prematurely ended Starship’s seventh test flight, raining debris over the islands of Turks and Caicos on January 16.
The Federal Aviation Administration — which licenses commercial rocket launches — is overseeing an investigation into the incident, but the agency gave SpaceX the green light February 28 to launch Flight 8. The agency noted that the probe into the Flight 7 mishap was ongoing, but the FAA determined SpaceX had “met all safety, environmental and other licensing requirements for the suborbital test flight,” according to a statement.
The seventh test flight exploded less than 10 minutes into flight.
The company believes a leak occurred in the rear section of the vehicle near a tank containing superchilled liquid oxygen, or a form of rocket propellant.
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While no property damage or injuries were reported, one vehicle was struck on the island of South Caicos, and debris caused brief flight disruptions as air traffic controllers rushed to reroute planes away from the site of the explosion.
However, residents of the archipelago of Turks and Caicos told CNN they are still finding debris from the spacecraft littering beaches and roadways. The local government worked with SpaceX to craft a debris recovery plan. However, the contents of the plan have not been made public and it’s not clear who is paying for the cleanup effort.
Neither SpaceX nor the Turks and Caicos government responded to requests for comment.
SpaceX has long embraced an engineering and development philosophy it calls “rapid iterative development.” The goal has been to rapidly build Starship prototypes and put them on the launchpad with a willingness to blow them up.
What’s different about the last Starship mission in January and today’s flight is where and how the debris fell.
While the first test flight of Starship and Super Heavy blew up a launchpad at SpaceX’s Starbase facilities in 2023, January’s Flight 7 and today’s Flight 8 both allowed Starship to travel out over the Atlantic and Caribbean before exploding near populated islands.
Today’s mishap raises questions about why the FAA, which licenses commercial rocket launches, allowed Starship to launch before the agency’s investigation into the Flight 7 mishap was completed. And whether experimental rockets should be allowed to fly over populated areas.
Thursday’s flight test was intended to put Starship through its paces so mission teams could zero in on weak points. Engineers have removed a large number of heat shield tiles from Starship to test vulnerable areas across the spacecraft. The black hexagonal tiles are designed to protect the vehicle as it experiences temperatures exceeding 2,600 degrees Fahrenheit (1,427 degrees Celsius) when reentering Earth’s atmosphere.
The failed test flight in January spurred SpaceX to make other upgrades and changes, including new vents and a “purge system” designed to prevent a fire, according to the company.
SpaceX said what mission teams learned prompted them to alter lines that feed fuel to some of Starship’s engines and tweak propellant temperatures. Another change adjusted the vehicle’s “operating thrust target” — or how much power SpaceX aims for the engines to generate during flight.
Meanwhile, the Super Heavy booster has some upgrades of its own, including a more powerful flight computer.
The Super Heavy booster separated as planned from the upper stage after about 2 ½ minutes of firing. Then, the booster set itself up for a successful landing within the “chopstick” arms of “Mechazilla,” or SpaceX’s launch tower, near Brownsville, Texas. The feat means that SpaceX has successfully caught a Super Heavy booster using the chopsticks three times now.
About 17 ½ minutes after lifting off, Starship was planning to attempt to deploy a batch of mock Starlink satellites for the first time. Like the spacecraft, the demo satellites weren’t intended to reach orbit. But similar to the seventh flight test, Flight 8’s objectives were not tested before the incident occurred.
CNN’s Pete Muntean contributed to this report.
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Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated when SpaceX stood down on an earlier attempt at Flight 8.
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SpaceX Starship megarocket upper stage lost again during 8th test flight; booster catch is successful
It happened again! SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft experienced another “rapid unscheduled disassembly.” It was visible from Miami on March 6, 2025. (Video: Tanner & Janessy Free)
After a failed mission in January, SpaceX on Thursday launched its eighth suborbital flight test of its fully integrated Starship megarocket, a combination of the ship’s upper stage (S34) and the Super Heavy booster (B15), at Starbase in Boca Chica Beach, Texas.
Unfortunately, history repeated itself when Starship’s upper stage made it into space only to start spinning uncontrollably before losing contact and breaking apart, sending debris cascading back to earth early Thursday evening.
One of the goals of the flight was to catch the Super Heavy booster using the chopsticks on the launch tower, which was completed successfully.
Starship’s upper stage rocket is seen breaking apart in the sky Thursday after its eighth test launch in Texas. (Credit: @jamesbuchanan27/TMX)
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Starship successfully launched on Thursday for its eighth suborbital flight test in Boca Chica Beach, Texas. (Credit: SpaceX)
“During Starship’s ascent burn, the vehicle experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly and contact was lost. Our team immediately began coordination with safety officials to implement pre-planned contingency responses,” SpaceX said in a statement. “We will review the data from today’s flight test to better understand [the] root cause. As always, success comes from what we learn, and today’s flight will offer additional lessons to improve Starship’s reliability.”
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has not commented following the launch, as of 7:45 p.m.
SpaceX on Thursday launched its eighth suborbital flight test of its Starship megarocket at Starbase in Boca Chica Beach, Texas. (SpaceX / Fox News)
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) released a statement noting it is requiring SpaceX to perform a “mishap investigation” into the loss of the Starship.
“During the event, the FAA activated a Debris Response Area and briefly slowed aircraft outside the area where space vehicle debris was falling or stopped aircraft at their departure location,” according to the statement. “Normal operations have resumed.”
A mishap investigation is designed to enhance public safety, determine the root cause of the event, and identify corrective actions to avoid it from happening again, according to the FAA.
“The FAA will be involved in every step of the SpaceX-led mishap investigation process and must approve SpaceX’s final report, including any corrective actions,” according to the statement.
SpaceX on Thursday launched its eighth suborbital flight test of its Starship megarocket at Starbase in Boca Chica Beach, Texas. (SpaceX / Fox News)
SpaceX announcers who were streaming during the launch said the controllers lost contact with the ship, noting a debris response plan was in effect and air traffic control was “keeping public safe.”
“We fly to learn,” announcers said before the broadcast ended.
The upper stage was supposed to coast in space for about 40 minutes before performing a soft splashdown in the Indian Ocean.
A ground stop was issued for multiple Florida airports, including Miami International, due to space launch debris, according to the FAA.
As of 7:45 p.m., Miami remained grounded and Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International reported a departure delay due to the debris.
SpaceX on Thursday launched its eighth suborbital flight test of its Starship megarocket at Starbase in Boca Chica Beach, Texas. (SpaceX / Fox News)
After completing a January investigation into the similar loss of Starship early on its seventh flight test, several hardware and operational changes were made to increase the reliability of the upper stage, according to the company.
During the January test, all but one of Starship’s engines executed controlled shut-down sequences, leading to a loss of communication with the ship.
A pre-coordinated response plan developed by SpaceX, the FAA, and ATO (air traffic control) went into effect, ensuring no significant impacts on people, marine species or water quality.
SpaceX reached out immediately to the government of Turks and Caicos and worked alongside the United Kingdom to coordinate recovery and cleanup efforts.
Starship’s upper stage rocket is seen breaking apart in the Bahamas sky Thursday after its eighth test launch in Texas. (@jamesbuchanan27/TMX / Fox News)
Thursday’s flight followed the same suborbital trajectory as previous missions, but targeted objectives not reached in the previous test, including Starship’s first payload deployment and multiple reentry experiments geared towards returning the upper stage to the launch site for catch.
During the flight test, Starship was slated to deploy four Starlink simulators, similar in size to next-generation Starlink satellites. They were expected to disappear upon entry. A relight of a single Raptor engine while in space was also planned.
It is unclear if those operations were completed prior to the Ship upper stage losing communication.
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The test also included several experiments focused on ensuring the Starship’s upper stage could return to the launch site.
Some of the experiments included: removing a “significant number” of tiles to stress-test vulnerable areas; multiple metallic tile options to identify which will protect the ship during reentry; non-structural versions of Starship’s catch fittings to test the fittings’ thermal performance; and smoothing and tapering a section of the tile line to address hot spots observed during reentry on the sixth flight test.
SpaceX on Thursday launched its eighth suborbital flight test of its Starship megarocket at Starbase in Boca Chica Beach, Texas. (SpaceX / Fox News)
The Super Heavy booster featured upgraded avionics, including a more powerful flight computer, improved power and network distribution, and integrated smart batteries.
The company noted “distinct vehicle and pad criteria” needed to be met prior to the return and catch of the Super Heavy booster.
To return, the ship needed healthy systems on the booster and tower, and a final manual command from the mission’s flight director.
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“If this command is not sent prior to the completion of the boostback burn, or if automated health checks show unacceptable conditions with Super Heavy or the tower, the booster will default to a trajectory for a soft splashdown in the Gulf of America,” according to a statement from the company.
“We accept no compromises when it comes to ensuring the safety of the public and our team, and booster return will only take place if conditions are right,” the company wrote.
Starship’s upper stage rocket is seen breaking apart in the Bahamas sky Thursday after its eighth test launch in Texas. (@jamesbuchanan27/TMX / Fox News)
The returning booster slowed from supersonic speeds, resulting in audible sonic booms in the area around the landing zone.
“Generally, the only impact to those in the surrounding area of a sonic boom is the brief thunder-like noise with variables like weather and distance from the return site determining the magnitude experienced by observers,” according to the company.
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“Developmental testing by definition is unpredictable,” SpaceX wrote. “But by putting flight hardware in a flight environment as frequently as possible, we’re able to quickly learn and execute design changes as we seek to bring Starship online as a fully and rapidly reusable vehicle.”
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SpaceX Super Heavy booster successfully caught, upper ship reportedly explodes
SpaceX Starship spacecraft breaks apart during eighth test flight
SpaceX megarocket debris spotted in Bahamas sky
SpaceX launches eighth Starship flight test
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Flights halted at some Florida airports over SpaceX debris
US aviation authorities temporarily halted flights at several Florida airports over concerns about debris from SpaceX’s Starship, which spun out of control shortly after launch.
A ground stop was placed on airports in Orlando and Miami after the failed launch over the Atlantic Ocean. It has since been lifted. No injuries or damage have been reported.
SpaceX confirmed the un-crewed ship had suffered “a rapid unscheduled disassembly” during its ascent into space, and lost contact with the ground.
A statement from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the flights in and out of airports would be delayed due to a “space launch incident”. This was the eighth mission to test the rocket, and its second consecutive failure.
The 123m (403ft) spaceship was meant to re-enter Earth’s orbit over the Indian Ocean after a one-hour flight.
Its Super Heavy booster, which helps it leave the ground, did manage successfully to return to the launchpad.
SpaceX, which is owned by billionaire Elon Musk, said teams immediately started co-ordinating with safety officials for “pre-planned contingency responses”.
The statement added that SpaceX would review data “to better understand root cause” of the accident.
“As always, success comes from what we learn, and today’s flight will offer additional lessons to improve Starship’s reliability.”‘
Musk has yet to comment on Thursday’s explosion.
The incident follows a test in January, which saw a Starship rocket fail minutes after launching from SpaceX’s Texas facility.
The FAA also briefly closed airports at the time, due to concerns about falling debris.
After January’s incident, the FAA grounded Starship launches and noted the failed effort led to property damage in the Turks and Caicos Islands in the Caribbean.
“Unfortunately this happened last time too, so we have some practice at this now,” SpaceX flight commentator Dan Huot told reporters at the launch site on Thursday.
Footage posted on X purported to show flaming rocket debris falling over the Caribbean Sea. In the Bahamas, people posted that they were seeking shelter in order to take cover from debris.
Starship is the biggest, most powerful rocket ever built, and is key to Musk’s ambitions for colonising Mars.
SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket – collectively referred to as Starship – is intended to be fully reusable, the company says.
Nasa hopes to use a modified version of the spaceship as a human lunar lander for its Artemis missions to return to the Moon.
In the more distant future, Musk wants Starship to make long-haul trips to Mars and back – about a nine-month trip each way.
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