Glowing debris visible Starship rocket explodes - flight disruptions
Another one of Elon Musk's Starship rockets has exploded. It is the fourth failed launch in eight months.
07.03.2025, 08:27
07.03.2025, 08:42
SDA
The giant Starship rocket from Elon Musk's US space company SpaceX has taken off on its eighth test flight. The 123-metre-high rocket lifted off from the Boca Chica spaceport in the US state of Texas shortly after 5.30 p.m. on Thursday.
Shortly after the launch (local time, 00:30 Friday CET), SpaceX said it lost contact with the rocket. "We lost contact with the ship," explained Dan Huot from SpaceX. This had "unfortunately already happened last time". The company is working closely with the air traffic control authorities.
As a result, flights were disrupted in several US regions. The rocket apparently exploded in the Florida area, and the explosions were also visible in the Bahamas. Landings had to be delayed for 90 minutes in some cases.
In mid-January, the top stage of the missile exploded during a test flight and debris hit the Turks and Caicos Islands in the Caribbean. The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) then imposed a temporary flight ban.
Musk wants to put humans on Mars
Starship is the largest and most powerful space rocket ever and, according to Musk's plans, will one day take humans to Mars. Before the launch on Thursday, the eighth test flight had been postponed several times. Originally, the eighth Starship test flight should have taken place on Monday. However, it was canceled at the last minute due to a technical problem.
With Starship, SpaceX is pursuing the goal of building a fully reusable and therefore more cost-effective rocket. The US space agency NASA initially wants to use the rocket to resume manned flights to the moon.