SpaceX Rocket Explodes, Sends Nearby Flights Scrambling

What goes up, must come down. In one way or another.

A SpaceX Starship rocket broke apart minutes after launching from Texas.

Many caught the scattering debris on video as it fell over the Gulf of Mexico.

Due to this, airlines were forced to reroute flights.

The uncrewed test mission lost contact eight minutes post-liftoff.

This incident marks a significant setback for Elon Musk’s rocket program.

The FAA reported normal operations have since resumed.

Did SpaceX's Starship Flight 7 just explode? pic.twitter.com/46QF79tjmn

— Colton Blake 🇺🇸 (@ColtonBlakeX) January 16, 2025

Reuters reports:

A SpaceX Starship rocket broke up in space minutes after launching from Texas on 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.

SpaceX mission control lost contact with the newly upgraded Starship, carrying its first test payload of mock satellites but no crew, eight minutes after liftoff from its South Texas rocket facilities at 5:38 p.m. EST (2238 GMT).

Video shot by Reuters showed orange balls of light streaking across the sky over the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince, leaving trails of smoke behind.

“We did lose all communications with the ship – that is essentially telling us we had an anomaly with the upper stage,” SpaceX Communications Manager Dan Huot said, confirming minutes later that the ship was lost.

The last time a Starship upper stage failed was in March last year, as it was reentering Earth’s atmosphere over the Indian Ocean, but rarely has a SpaceX mishap caused widespread disruptions to air traffic.

Dozens of commercial flights diverted to other airports or altered course to avoid potential debris, according to flight tracking website FlightRadar24. Departures from airports in Miami and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, were also delayed by about 45 minutes, it added.

The Federal Aviation Administration, which regulates private launch activities, said it had briefly slowed and diverted planes around the area where space debris was falling, but normal operations had since resumed.

Starship exploding captured on an airplane pic.twitter.com/Y5maQrfmPG

— Tesla Owners Silicon Valley (@teslaownersSV) January 17, 2025

Curious hole they had on that rocket…

Firmament Intel:

🚨SpaceX Rocket blew up trying to exit the earth's Firmament. The booster remained intact and went back to base launch point

Upon launch, you can see there was a hole on the rocket. How could they have missed this? pic.twitter.com/R7H3f08vnA

— WayneTech SPFX®️ (@WayneTechSPFX) January 17, 2025