Just minutes after launching from a facility in Texas (USA), the Starship spacecraft exploded, forcing commercial flights over the Gulf of Mexico to change their routes to avoid debris.
According to information from SpaceX, the Starship, the latest upgraded version with a height increased by more than 2 meters compared to the old version, exploded while carrying the first batch of test satellites and without a crew.
According to Reuters, just 8 minutes after takeoff, the control center lost contact with the ship. Dan Huot, SpaceX's communications manager, confirmed that this was an unusual incident on the spacecraft's upper stage.
Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, shared on social media that the initial cause of the explosion could be a liquid oxygen leak in the fuel system, leading to excessive pressure and causing the ship to rupture.
The incident caused major disruption to the aviation industry. According to flight tracking site FlightRadar24, dozens of commercial flights were diverted or delayed to ensure safety.
Major airports in Miami and Fort Lauderdale also reported average delays of up to 45 minutes. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it had set up temporary flight restrictions to deal with the debris before resuming normal operations.
While SpaceX is known for its experimental approach to testing its technical limits, the explosion is still a significant setback for the development of Starship, a spacecraft that is expected to carry humans and cargo to Mars and deploy large-scale satellites into Earth orbit.
Despite the incident occurring during a phase that SpaceX has successfully completed in the past, Elon Musk remains optimistic about the ability to continue testing. He stated that there is no reason to delay the next launch scheduled for next month.
However, the US Federal Aviation Administration may open an investigation and temporarily suspend Starship flights to ensure safety, especially when it needs to determine whether the debris fell into a densely populated area or outside the predetermined danger zone.
This is the seventh test of Starship since 2023, part of SpaceX's multi-billion dollar project to realize its ambition to conquer space. However, this incident poses many challenges to SpaceX's goal of conducting at least 12 tests this year.
