SpaceX ’s ambitious Starship program faced another setback, when its Super Heavy booster and Starship rocket exploded during the ninth test flight, marking the third consecutive failure for the company led by billionaire Elon Musk . The uncrewed mission, launched from SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Texas, aimed to advance the development of the massive 400-foot-tall rocket system designed to transport people and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, and ultimately Mars.
A livestream broadcast on SpaceX’s website and social media platforms captured the dramatic sequence of events. The first-stage Super Heavy booster detonated shortly after launch, while the second-stage Starship spacecraft suffered a critical fuel leak, leading to a loss of control and an explosion during reentry. This follows similar incidents in January and March 2025, underscoring persistent challenges in the Starship program.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a statement acknowledging the anomaly and confirmed it is working with SpaceX to investigate the incident. “There were no reports of public injury or damage to public property at this time,” the agency noted.
Elon Musk, SpaceX’s CEO and the world’s wealthiest individual, took to Twitter to comment on the test. “Starship made it to the scheduled ship engine cutoff, so big improvement over last flight! Also no significant loss of heat shield tiles during ascent,” he wrote. However, he acknowledged that “leaks caused loss of main tank pressure during the coast and re-entry phase.” Musk remained optimistic, vowing to ramp up Starship’s launch cadence to approximately one flight every three to four weeks. This almost means one flight every month.
The FAA recently approved an increase in SpaceX’s Starship launch frequency, lifting a previous restriction of five launches per year from its Texas spaceport. This regulatory shift aligns with SpaceX’s goal to accelerate testing and refine the rocket’s reliability.
“With a test like this, success comes from what we learn, and today’s test will help us improve Starship’s reliability as SpaceX seeks to make life multiplanetary,” SpaceX stated in a post on Twitter. The company referred to the explosion as a “rapid unscheduled disassembly,” a term often used to describe such failures.
As SpaceX presses forward with its vision of colonizing Mars, Tuesday’s explosion highlights the technical hurdles still facing the Starship program, even as the company accelerates its testing schedule.
A livestream broadcast on SpaceX’s website and social media platforms captured the dramatic sequence of events. The first-stage Super Heavy booster detonated shortly after launch, while the second-stage Starship spacecraft suffered a critical fuel leak, leading to a loss of control and an explosion during reentry. This follows similar incidents in January and March 2025, underscoring persistent challenges in the Starship program.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a statement acknowledging the anomaly and confirmed it is working with SpaceX to investigate the incident. “There were no reports of public injury or damage to public property at this time,” the agency noted.
Elon Musk, SpaceX’s CEO and the world’s wealthiest individual, took to Twitter to comment on the test. “Starship made it to the scheduled ship engine cutoff, so big improvement over last flight! Also no significant loss of heat shield tiles during ascent,” he wrote. However, he acknowledged that “leaks caused loss of main tank pressure during the coast and re-entry phase.” Musk remained optimistic, vowing to ramp up Starship’s launch cadence to approximately one flight every three to four weeks. This almost means one flight every month.
The FAA recently approved an increase in SpaceX’s Starship launch frequency, lifting a previous restriction of five launches per year from its Texas spaceport. This regulatory shift aligns with SpaceX’s goal to accelerate testing and refine the rocket’s reliability.
“With a test like this, success comes from what we learn, and today’s test will help us improve Starship’s reliability as SpaceX seeks to make life multiplanetary,” SpaceX stated in a post on Twitter. The company referred to the explosion as a “rapid unscheduled disassembly,” a term often used to describe such failures.
As SpaceX presses forward with its vision of colonizing Mars, Tuesday’s explosion highlights the technical hurdles still facing the Starship program, even as the company accelerates its testing schedule.
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