SpaceX knows how to put on a show.
The company launched the seventh flight test of its Starship megarocket this afternoon from its Starbase site in South Texas. The 403-foot-tall (123 meters) vehicle lifted off successfully and achieved stage separation. And its first-stage booster, called Super Heavy, made it back down to Starbase for a dramatic catch by its launch tower’s “chopstick” arms.
But some eight minutes into the flight, SpaceX lost contact with the Starship upper stage, known as Ship. It’s currently unknown what caused the problem, but one thing is certain: Ship went out with a bang.
The 171-foot-tall (52 meters) spacecraft exploded over the Atlantic Ocean near the Turks and Caicos islands around 8.5 minutes after launch, creating a spectacular sky show witnessed by many people in the area.
And a fair few of these folks posted their photos and videos on X, the social media site owned by SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk.
Related: SpaceX catches Super Heavy booster on Starship Flight 7 test but loses upper stage (video, photos)
Just saw the most insane #spacedebris #meteorshower right now in Turks and Caicos @elonmusk what is it?? pic.twitter.com/a7f4MbEB8QJanuary 16, 2025
Starship Flight 7 breaking up and re-entering over Turks and Caicos pic.twitter.com/iuQ0YAy17OJanuary 16, 2025
Starship from the Icon of the Seas (Caribbean Sea) @SpaceX @elonmusk pic.twitter.com/1zzspKDgNUJanuary 16, 2025
Here’s the exact moment Ship 33 experienced a RUD. https://t.co/in2nZBWNV8 pic.twitter.com/iI7DtLiZlEJanuary 16, 2025
“Starship experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly during its ascent burn. Teams will continue to review data from today’s flight test to better understand root cause. With a test like this, success comes from what we learn, and today’s flight will help us improve Starship’s reliability,” SpaceX said via X this evening.
“Rapid unscheduled disassemblies” — SpaceX’s favored term for explosions — are not uncommon during the development of new rockets.
And SpaceX certainly won’t be deterred by today’s results; the company is used to working fast, flying often and incorporating lessons learned on test flights into the next vehicle build. And there was a silver lining today — the Super Heavy “chopsticks” catch, which showcased SpaceX’s planned recovery strategy for both the booster and Ship.
Today’s catch was the second such snag for SpaceX, which first pulled off the feat in October on Starship Flight 5.