Elon Musk’s SpaceX faced another setback on Thursday, March 6, as its Starship exploded in space during the eighth test flight.
The 403-foot rocket blasted off from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, at around 6:30 p.m. Eastern Time.
However, within minutes of launch, contact was lost as the spacecraft, designed to land astronauts on the moon and ferry crews to Mars, went into an out-of-control spin.
Debris from the rocket scattered across Florida and the Bahamas.
The explosion occurred after several engines cut off, causing the spacecraft to lose altitude control.
In a statement, SpaceX said: “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.
“We will review the data from today’s flight test to better understand root cause. As always, success comes from what we learn, and today’s flight will offer additional lessons to improve Starship’s reliability.”
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a ground notice for multiple flights after the test launch on Thursday and stated that it will require SpaceX to conduct a mishap investigation into the loss of Starship.
Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Palm Beach, and Orlando airports were issued the notice due to “space launch debris” until 8 p.m. (1 a.m. UK time).
Departures at the four Florida airports were delayed by an average of 45 minutes due to the incident.
This comes after the previous Starship test flight in January failed eight minutes into the flight when the rocket exploded over the Bahamas.
