Elon Musk’s Starship Rocket Explodes Midair


Elon Musk’s Starship Rocket Explodes Midair

Within minutes of the launch, SpaceX’s Starship rocket disintegrates; Musk says could be owing to oxygen/fuel leak; flights in the region impacted because of debris which fell into Gulf of Mexico

 
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Udaipur, January 18, 2025 - Elon Musk's company SpaceX's Starship rocket failed during a test flight on January 16. It exploded in the sky with a bang and disintegrated in the upper atmosphere just 8:5 minutes into its seventh test flight. Its debris fell into the Gulf of Mexico.

The Starship rocket was being prepared for missions to the Moon and Mars.

SpaceX said in a statement that contact with the rocket was lost and that the rocket underwent "rapid unplanned disassembly." Musk shared a video of debris falling from the sky saying, "Success is uncertain, but entertainment is guaranteed."

He further explained on X: “Preliminary indication is that we had an oxygen/fuel leak in the cavity above the ship engine firewall that was large enough to build pressure in excess of the vent capacity. Apart from obviously double-checking for leaks, we will add fire suppression to that volume and probably increase vent area. Nothing so far suggests pushing next launch past next month.”

The top part of the rocket disintegrated but the Super Heavy lower section was brought down to Earth. As it descended to the ground, it was caught in midair using giant mechanical arms.

This was the first test flight of the Starship rocket this year. After taking off from the southern tip of Texas, the rocket was supposed to pass over the Gulf of Mexico and the Yucatán Peninsula. It was supposed to cross the Atlantic Ocean near Cuba. IIf everything had gone smoothly, the rocket would have landed in the Indian Ocean.

As a result of the falling debris, a number of flights had to be grounded or diverted for a brief while, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Commercial flights operated by JetBlue Airways Corp. and American Airlines Group Inc. were forced to take avoidance action. Some flights over the Caribbean were seen diverting or circling mid-flight on tracking website Flightradar24.

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