SpaceX’s latest Starship test flight ended in failure on Thursday after the spacecraft lost control and broke apart mid-flight, sending flaming debris over Florida. This marks the second consecutive unsuccessful attempt as the company continues refining the world’s most powerful rocket.
The 403-foot (123-meter) Starship launched from SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Texas at 8:25 AM local time. The first-stage Super Heavy booster successfully separated and landed back at the pad—one of SpaceX’s key milestones toward full reusability. However, as Starship’s upper stage continued eastward toward a planned controlled descent over the Indian Ocean, multiple engine shutdowns caused the spacecraft to spin out of control.
Shortly after, contact was lost, and debris was seen streaking across Florida’s skies, with reports of wreckage near Cape Canaveral. It remains unclear whether the spacecraft’s self-destruct system activated or if it broke apart due to the failure.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has launched an investigation and briefly grounded flights at Orlando International Airport due to safety concerns over space debris.
This is the second consecutive Starship test failure. The previous attempt, in January, ended in an explosion over the Atlantic Ocean due to a fuel leak that triggered fires. SpaceX has since redesigned Starship’s flight computers, flaps, and fuel systems, but Thursday’s failure suggests further modifications are needed.
The setback raises questions about whether Starship can meet NASA’s timeline for the Artemis program, where it is contracted to land astronauts on the Moon later this decade. Despite this, SpaceX remains committed to developing Starship for future Mars missions and will continue testing after further investigations.
For more Tech updates, visit DC Brief
