‘Entertainment’: Musk as SpaceX Starship explodes, debris falls
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk called 'entertainment' after SpaceX Starship test flight exploded in space and debris fell sparking panic among the Texas residents Thursday January 16, 2025
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk called “entertainment” after SpaceX Starship test flight exploded in space and debris fell sparking panic among the Texas residents Thursday January 16, 2025.
"Success is uncertain, but entertainment is guaranteed!" Musk wrote on social media platform X, tagging the video showing SpaceX's Starship 7 breaking into pieces and tumbled back to Earth.
In the video that Musk shared, people are heard screaming, “What’s this? It’s about to fall on us. We will be dying.. Oh my God… Oh my God”.
Watch: "The Entertainment"
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk called 'entertainment' after SpaceX Starship test flight exploded in space and debris fell sparking panic among the Texas residents. pic.twitter.com/BQgrM1sf68
— ummid.com (@ummid) January 17, 2025
The SpaceX Starship prototype failed in space minutes after launch from Texas Thursday, forcing airline flights over the Gulf of Mexico to alter course to avoid falling debris and setting back Elon Musk's flagship rocket program.
“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”, the Musk owned company said.
“With a test like this, success comes from what we learn, and today’s flight will help us improve Starship’s reliability”, it added.
The mission was SpaceX's seventh Starship test since 2023 in Musk's multibillion-dollar effort to build a rocket capable of ferrying humans and cargo to Mars, as well as deploying large batches of satellites into Earth's orbit.
The in-space explosion forced a number of airline flights over the Gulf of Mexico to change course to avoid the falling debris.
The last time a Starship upper stage failed was in March last year, as it was re-entering Earth's atmosphere over the Indian Ocean. But rarely has a SpaceX mishap caused widespread disruptions to air traffic.
Some flights were grounded at Miami International Airport, according to a Reuters witness.
On the other hand, at least 20 commercial flights diverted to other airports to avoid potential debris, based on flight records from tracking website FlightRadar24.
"Development testing is unpredictable"
In a detailed statement later, SpaceX said "development testing is unpredictable" and that the company will certainly learn from "failure".
"The first Starship flight test of 2025 flew with ambitious goals: seeking to repeat our previous success of launching and catching the world’s most powerful launch vehicle while putting a redesigned and upgraded Starship through a rigorous set of flight demonstrations. It served as a reminder that development testing by definition is unpredictable", SpaceX said.
"On its 7th flight test, Starship successfully lifted off from Starbase in Texas at 4:37 p.m. CT on Thursday, January 16. At launch, all 33 Raptor engines powered the Super Heavy booster and Starship on a nominal ascent. Following a successful hot-stage separation, the booster successfully transitioned to its boostback burn, with 12 of the planned 13 Raptor engines relighting, to begin its return to the launch site.
"Super Heavy then relit all 13 planned middle ring and center Raptor engines and performed its landing burn, including the engine that did not relight for boostback burn. The landing burn slowed Super Heavy down and maneuvered itself to the launch and catch tower arms, resulting in the second successful catch of a Super Heavy booster", the company said.
"As always, success comes from what we learn, and this flight test will help us improve Starship’s reliability as SpaceX seeks to make life multiplanetary. Data review is already underway as we seek out root cause. We will conduct a thorough investigation, in coordination with the FAA, and implement corrective actions to make improvements on future Starship flight tests", SpaceX said.
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