SpaceX's Starship launch ends in loss during ambitious test flight

SpaceX's massive Starship launch system successfully lifted off on its seventh uncrewed test flight on Thursday (Jan. 14, local time), marking the program's most ambitious attempt to date.

The upgraded megarocket demonstrated a successful booster recovery, mirroring previous achievements. However, approximately 8.5 minutes into the flight, the Starship spacecraft was lost.

"Starship experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly during its ascent burn," SpaceX announced on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. The company added, "Teams will continue to review data from today's flight test to better understand the root cause. With a test like this, success comes from what we learn, and today's flight will help us improve Starship's reliability."

Aircraft-tracking website Flightradar24 reported that the Starship explosion led to numerous aircraft being held or diverted to avoid potential debris. Social media posts showed what appeared to be debris from the spacecraft falling over the Caribbean.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) noted that flights departing from Miami International Airport and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport faced delays averaging one hour due to the "rocket launch anomaly." A separate FAA alert cited delays resulting from "debris."

Related News:

US SEC sues Elon Musk over late disclosure of Twitter stake

Jeff Bezos' new rocket to pose long-awaited challenge to SpaceX