Footage circulating on social media captured fiery debris streaking across sky near South Florida and Bahamas
FLORIDA: (UrduPoint/UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News-March 7th, 2025) SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft encountered a catastrophic failure on Thursday, disintegrating in space just minutes after launching from Texas.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) temporarily halted air traffic in parts of Florida due to concerns over falling debris.
It marks the second consecutive failure for Elon Musk’s mars exploration initiative this year.
Footage circulating on social media captured fiery debris streaking across the sky near South Florida and the Bahamas. A live broadcast from SpaceX showed Starship breaking apart shortly after an uncontrolled spin led to engine shutdown.
This incident follows a similar explosion during the seventh Starship test last month. The consecutive failures occurred at early mission phases that had previously been completed successfully, raising concerns over the project’s progress. The 123-meter (403-foot) rocket is integral to Musk’s goal of sending humans to Mars within the next decade.
Following the explosion, the FAA issued temporary flight restrictions at several airports, including Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Palm Beach, and Orlando, due to “space launch debris.” The agency has launched an investigation into the incident.
Starship lifted off at approximately 6:30 p.m. ET (2330 GMT) from SpaceX’s Boca Chica facility in Texas. The Super Heavy booster successfully executed its return and was captured mid-air by a specialized crane.
However, minutes later, the Starship upper stage began an uncontrolled spin in space, with several engines shutting down. Communication was lost shortly after.
During the live stream, SpaceX representatives acknowledged the issue, drawing parallels to the previous flight failure. The company later confirmed that the spacecraft experienced a critical malfunction in its aft section, resulting in the loss of multiple engines, which ultimately led to the breakdown of attitude control and communication loss approximately nine minutes and 30 seconds into the flight.
SpaceX assured that no hazardous materials were present in the debris. The January test flight had also ended in failure, with an explosion eight minutes into the mission, scattering debris over Caribbean islands and causing minor damage in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
As the regulatory body overseeing private space launches, the FAA stated that its investigation would require SpaceX to determine the cause of the failure and obtain clearance before Starship can attempt another flight. The agency had previously granted SpaceX a launch license for this test while the investigation into the January incident was still ongoing.
The objective of this test flight was to complete nearly a full orbit around Earth before re-entering over the Indian Ocean for a controlled splashdown. This was intended to simulate future land-based landings, a crucial milestone in the spacecraft’s development.
