Another SpaceX Starship Rocket Test Ends in Explosion

Another SpaceX Starship rocket test ended in an explosion on Thursday as flaming debris rained down on the Turks and Caicos Islands.

SpaceX launched the 403-foot rocket from its base in Texas before losing contact within minutes of the test flight. It remains unknown if the rocket exploded due to an error or if its self-destruct system was activated. Per the Associated Press (AP):

SpaceX caught the first-stage booster back at the pad with giant mechanical arms, but engines on the spacecraft on top started shutting down as it streaked eastward for what was supposed to be a controlled entry over the Indian Ocean, half a world away. Contact was lost as the spacecraft went into an out-of-control spin.

Starship reached nearly 90 miles (150 kilometers) in altitude before trouble struck and before four mock satellites could be deployed. It was not immediately clear where it came down, but images of flaming debris were captured from Florida, including near Cape Canaveral, and posted online.

The explosion comes roughly two months after another Starship rocket launched from the “Starbase” facility near Brownsville, Texas, exploded roughly nine minutes into its test flight.

NASA has enlisted the SpaceX Starships with the aim of sending astronauts into space for a potential trip to the planet Mars.

Like the last explosion, social media users began sharing video of the debris plummeting down to earth.

Paul Roland Bois directed the award-winning Christian tech thriller, EXEMPLUM, which has a 100% Rotten Tomatoes critic rating and can be viewed for FREE on YouTube, Tubi, or Fawesome TV. “Better than Killers of the Flower Moon,” wrote Mark Judge. “You haven’t seen a story like this before,” wrote Christian Toto. A high-quality, ad-free rental can also be streamed on Google Play, Vimeo on Demand, or YouTube Movies. Follow him on X @prolandfilms or Instagram @prolandfilms.