SpaceX's Starship 36 underwent a "catastrophic failure" on the stand at its Texas launch site, but the latest setback is unlikely to dent the company's ambitions.
SpaceX's Starship has exploded once again — adding to a growing list of setbacks for the company's rocket.
The upper stage of the rocket, the largest ever built, was undergoing routine testing to prepare for its 10th test flight at SpaceX's South Texas Starbase site on Wednesday night (June 18) when it "suffered a catastrophic failure and exploded," local authorities wrote on Facebook.
The gigantic fireball adds to a string of recent headaches for the rocket's upper stages. The ship exploded mid-flight during two previous test flights in January and March, and fell to pieces during an earlier-than-planned reentry in May.
WATCH THE EXPLOSION VIDEO: https://youtu.be/71AwkBt3_ts?si=-pcbV5ObI9xqkqcQ
In a post on X, SpaceX has attributed the latest explosion to "a major anomaly while on a test stand at Starbase," yet the exact cause of the malfunction is unclear.
"A safety clear area around the site was maintained throughout the operation and all personnel are safe and accounted for," SpaceX added in the post. "Our Starbase team is actively working to safe the test site and the immediate surrounding area in conjunction with local officials. There are no hazards to residents in surrounding communities, and we ask that individuals do not attempt to approach the area while safing [sic] operations continue."
Starship is key to SpaceX majority shareholder Elon Musk's ambitions to transport spacecraft, crew members, satellites and cargo into orbit around Earth and to the moon and Mars.
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