Elon Musk’s SpaceX Starship Explodes and Grounds Flights at Florida Airports

SpaceX’s Starship rocket exploded after lift-off in Texas on Thursday, March 6, causing flights to be grounded at multiple airports in Florida.

A live stream showed engines cutting off from the rocket roughly eight minutes into the launch, shortly after the booster was successfully caught back at the tower.

“We just saw some engines go out. It looks like we are losing altitude control of the ship,” explained SpaceX communications manager Dan Huot during the webcast. The spacecraft appeared to spin before communication was lost.

According to CNN, The Hill and The New York Times, at the time of the incident, flights from Miami International Airport, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and Philadelphia International Airport were delayed due to “space launch debris,” per the outlets.

Smaller airports serving West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, and Orlando, Fla., were also affected, per CNBC.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it “activated a Debris Response Area and briefly slowed aircraft outside the area where space vehicle debris was falling or stopped aircraft at their departure location.”

While normal operations have resumed, the FAA ordered SpaceX to perform a “mishap investigation” into the incident, the agency continued.

SpaceX said in a statement on X that “during Starship’s ascent burn, the vehicle experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly and contact was lost.”

“Our team immediately began coordination with safety officials to implement pre-planned contingency responses,” the statement continued. The astronautics company vowed to “review the data from today’s flight test to better understand root cause.”

“As always, success comes from what we learn, and today’s flight will offer additional lessons to improve Starship’s reliability,” the statement said.

In a follow-up statement on its website, SpaceX said that “prior to the end of the ascent burn, an energetic event in the aft portion of Starship resulted in the loss of several Raptor engines.” It also expressed that “surviving debris would have fallen within the pre-planned Debris Response Area.”

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has not spoken out about the latest incident.

Starship previously exploded during a test flight in January causing debris to fall over Turks and Caicos, CNN reported. A Turks and Caicos government account released an advisory statement following Thursday’s launch.

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“We are in contact with the US FAA, SpaceX and UK agency leads to confirm the position. Post incident protocols have been engaged. The National Security Secretariat will continue to keep the public apprised as we work to ensure the safety and security of our Islands,” the statement said.