SpaceX’s Starship blew up during a static-fire test at its Texas Starbase facility on June 18, ahead of its 10th flight, with no injuries reported.
As the company prepared for the tenth test flight of the heavy-lift rocket system, one of SpaceX’s Starship launch vehicles detonated on a test stand in Texas late Wednesday night.
In a post on X, SpaceX stated that “all personnel are safe and accounted for” and that “there are no hazards to residents in surrounding communities.” The company did not explain the detonation.
It is not immediately apparent what effect this will have on SpaceX’s development of the Starship rocket system. According to a recent Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) advisory, the tenth test flight could have occurred as early as June 29.
Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, stated in a post that appeared to be related to the detonation that he regards it as “just a scratch.”
The 171-foot Starship and the 232-foot Super Heavy booster that propels it into space have been the focus of SpaceX’s aggressive development efforts over the past few years.
The company declared that 2025 would be a “transformational” year for the program at the outset, and the FAA recently increased the limit on Starship launches in Texas from 5 to 25.
However, Starship has encountered numerous complications this year. In January, the rocket experienced an unexpected explosion during its seventh test flight, and it subsequently detonated again in March. It failed once more during its ninth examination in May.
Even though the rocket advanced further into its most recent flight in May than in the previous two tests, it could not deploy the dummy Starlink satellites it was carrying aloft.
This failure was critical to the company’s strategy to expand its space-based internet service using the mega-rocket.
Musk has maintained that SpaceX is on course to attempt to send a Starship to Mars in 2026, stating in a company update in May that it has a “50/50” chance of success.
The company is also developing a more substantial “Version 3” of Starship, which Musk has stated could be launched as early as this year.
