SpaceX’s Starship rocket experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly during its eighth test flight, leading to debris from the explosion falling to Earth, lighting up the skies above the Bahamas. The company lost communication with the rocket just over nine minutes after the launch, which took place at SpaceX’s Starbase in Boca Chica. This was the second Starship explosion in two months, with the previous one occurring in January.
Videos of the debris falling were shared on social media, with SpaceX implementing pre-planned contingency responses. The Federal Aviation Administration ordered a mishap investigation and activated a debris response area, causing flight delays at various airports. Despite the delays, normal operations resumed later in the evening.
During the test flight, SpaceX was able to successfully return and catch the rocket booster at the launch pad, but did not complete a Starlink payload deployment test. The Starship vehicle was meant to land in the Indian Ocean. SpaceX’s representatives expressed a commitment to learning from the incident and making improvements for future flights. The airport in the Bahamas experienced a brief closure of its airspace, causing delays for two flights, but is now fully operational. SpaceX had delayed the launch twice before finally proceeding with the test flight.
Note: The image is for illustrative purposes only and is not the original image of the presented article.
