SpaceX’s Starship explodes on the ground, triggering huge fireball

SpaceX’s Starship has everyone accustomed to what is euphemistically called “rapid unscheduled disassembly”—that is, exploding. But these accidents usually occur after launch. On Wednesday night at about 11p.m. CT, Elon Musk’s spaceship exploded on the ground during a static fire test of its Super Heavy booster.

It was a routine test, in preparation for the spacecraft’s 10th flight test, the date of which had not yet been announced. However, shortly after the engines were ignited, the spacecraft exploded, causing a massive fireball at Starbase, which is both SpaceX’s base in Texas and the newly incorporated town where it is located.

The accident is a serious setback for SpaceX because of the damage caused to the base. After the initial explosion, other minor ones followed, and a huge fire continued to rage two hours after the explosion. Local media said that no injuries have been reported, but that members of the Brownsville fire department were sent to the scene to put out the flames.

About 90 minutes after the explosion, Space X issued a statement on X: “On Wednesday, June 18 at approximately 11 p.m. CT, the Starship preparing for the tenth flight test experienced a major anomaly while on a test stand at Starbase. A safety clear area around the site was maintained throughout the operation and all personnel are safe and accounted for.”

The company added that “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 operations continue.”

The Starship managed to reach space at the end of May before exploding for the third time in a row. It did not do so, as in the two previous tests, over the Atlantic Ocean, but much later over the Indian Ocean. Afterwards, SpaceX said it had lost control of the aircraft. The company communicated what that meant: the rocket would not be returning to Earth as planned.

Wednesday’s test was the second static fire test in preparation for the spacecraft’s 10th flight test. SpaceX considered the ninth flight test a major milestone in returning Starship to space. The company announced it would review the data and implement further improvements in work to prepare the next Starship and Super Heavy for flight. “Developmental testing by definition is unpredictable, but every lesson learned marks progress toward Starship’s goal of enabling life to become multiplanetary,” the company optimistically concluded at the time.

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