SpaceX Starship explodes in space, FAA delays flights due to rocket debris 

SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft has exploded in space shortly after taking off from Texas, leading the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to reroute or delay air traffic in some areas of Florida and the Caribbean due to rocket debris. 

SpaceX confirmed they lost contact with the Starship rocket nine minutes and 30 seconds into its eighth test flight on March 6, 2025, as the spacecraft began tumbling to Earth. There were no astronauts on board. 

Several videos shared on X showed debris from the rocket falling near southern Florida and the Bahamas. 

#SpaceX #Starship we are taking cover here in the Ragged Islands, Bahamas. Cross your fingers for us! pic.twitter.com/ncwGcFhC1B— GeneDoctor (@GeneDoctorB) March 6, 2025

SpaceX announced on the day of the launch that the debris contains “no toxic materials” and that there are “no significant impacts expected to occur to marine species or water quality”. 

Starship’s eighth test flight lifted off from Starbase in Texas at 17:30 local time. The Super Heavy booster successfully ignited its 33 Raptor engines and launched Starship through the first stage of its flight. 

Approximately two and a half minutes after liftoff, the Super Heavy booster shut down most of its Raptor engines, keeping three active for the hot-staging separation. Starship then activated its six engines, detached from the Super Heavy booster, and continued its journey into space.  

However, on March 7, 2025, SpaceX announced on X that “during Starship’s ascent burn, the vehicle experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly and contact was lost”. The company added it will review the data from the flight to “better understand root cause”. 

As debris scattered over parts of the Caribbean, the FAA announced that it activated a Debris Response Area and briefly slowed aircraft outside the area where space vehicle debris was falling, or else stopped aircraft at their departure location.  

FlightAware data shows that multiple flights at Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Palm Beach and Orlando airports faced delays or cancellations. Some flights were also diverted around Turks and Caicos. The FAA added that normal operations resumed the same day. 

The failed test flight occurred just over a month after SpaceX’s seventh Starship flight also ended in explosive failure. Elon Musk’s Mars rocket program aims to send humans and cargo to Mars using the Starship spacecraft, which SpaceX claims is the “world’s most powerful launch vehicle ever developed”. The post SpaceX Starship explodes in space, FAA delays flights due to rocket debris  appeared first on AeroTime.

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