US grounds SpaceX's Starship after test flight explosion
The US has temporarily halted all flights of the massive Starship rocket built by SpaceX while an investigation into the reasons behind its recent explosion during a test flight is conducted.
The rocket's upper stage suddenly broke apart and disintegrated over the Caribbean after launching from Texas on Thursday, requiring airline flights to change course in order to avoid falling debris.
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) stated that it is working with SpaceX and other relevant authorities to verify reports regarding damage to public property on the Turks and Caicos Islands. No injuries have been reported.
Elon Musk's company has been ordered by the aviation regulator to conduct an investigation into a "mishap" that occurred, and the regulator will examine the results before determining whether the Starship can resume flying.
Prevent aircraft from taking off from their departure locations.
It added that several aircraft requested to divert due to low fuel levels while being held outside of the affected area.
The Starship is the most massive and powerful rocket ever constructed, and it's a crucial element in Elon Musk's goal of establishing a human settlement on Mars.
Thursday's unmanned launch was Starship's seventh test flight, and the first to involve a taller, updated version of the rocket.
The Starship upper stage, two meters, or nearly 6.56 feet, taller than earlier versions, was a "new generation ship with significant upgrades," SpaceX stated before the test.
The shuttle was scheduled to make a controlled landing in the Indian Ocean approximately an hour after its liftoff from Boca Chica, Texas.
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The Starship system launched at 5:38 PM EST and the upper stage separated from the Super Heavy booster approximately four minutes into the flight as planned.
However, SpaceX communications manager Dan Huot later announced during a live feed that the mission teams were no longer in contact with the spacecraft.
The Super Heavy booster landed back at its launchpad about seven minutes into its flight, meeting the scheduled plan, and was met with excitement and applause from the individuals working in ground control.
SpaceX later confirmed that the upper stage had experienced a "sudden unexplained disintegration".
Musk posted on his social media platform X that preliminary signs suggested a problem related to an "oxygen/fuel leak in the cavity above the ship engine firewall".
He added that "there's nothing yet to indicate that the next launch should be done after next month".
SpaceX's Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket, known together as Starship, stand 123m (403ft) tall and are designed to be completely reusable, according to the company.
NASA plans to utilize a revised version of the rocket as a human lunar lander for its Artemis missions to send humans back to the Moon.
In the more distant future, Musk wants Starship to make the long journey to Mars and back - taking around nine months for each trip.
The Starship test launch occurred on Thursday, just hours after the first test flight of the Blue Origin New Glenn rocket system, spearheaded by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.
It was a major milestone for Bezos and his company, which had invested years of effort to reach the point of launching a rocket into space orbit.
Amazon's Jeff Bezos and entrepreneur Elon Musk are both striving to become the leading players in the space vehicle industry.
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