Astronauts orbiting 250 miles above Earth got a front-row seat to destruction on Thursday.
During a SpaceX flight test of Starship, the world's most powerful rocket and spacecraft system, NASA's Don Pettit snapped photos from the International Space Station of the ship blowing up. The images, which he posted on X, the social platform owned by SpaceX founder and President Donald Trump's right-hand man Elon Musk, show the astonishing accident from space.
"We saw the Starship 8 breakup in the upper atmosphere and fall back to earth from the ISS," said Pettit, known for his photography from the lofty perch.
Starship, a 400-foot-tall, super-heavy-lift rocket and spaceship, blasted off shortly after 5:30 p.m. CT on March 6 from the aerospace company's private spaceport in Boca Chica, Texas. The test flight was the rocket system's eighth. This is now the second consecutive test, coming off the heels of a mishap in January, in which the ship exploded less than 10 minutes into flight — long before its intended splashdown in the Indian Ocean.
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During the January test, two flashes occurred near one of the ship's engines shortly after booster separation. SpaceX has said strong vibrations led to fuel leaks that were too much for the ship's vents to handle, leading to fires that eventually triggered the flight termination system. Spacecraft debris rained down over Turks and Caicos, resulting in one report of property damage.
Despite that investigation remaining open, the Federal Aviation Administration allowed the company to conduct this week's test. FAA spokesman Steven Kulm told Mashable the agency determined that no system, process, or procedure related to the mishap affected public safety or SpaceX's license.
"A return to flight operations of the vehicle-type involved in the mishap is ultimately based on public safety," he said in an email.
As for Thursday's test, Starship again began experiencing vibrations just before finishing its ascent. Several engines failed, leading to the ship losing control. Flight controllers lost communication with Starship about 9.5 minutes after launch. Shortly after, people began taking and posting pictures and videos online of debris raining over the Bahamas, and flights were temporarily grounded in Florida to avoid the wreckage.
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SpaceX said the rocket stayed within a designated safety zone, and the company quickly worked with air traffic and safety officials after the failure.
"Any surviving debris would have fallen within the pre-planned Debris Response Area," the company said in a post-flight statement. "There are no toxic materials present in the debris and no significant impacts (are) expected to occur to marine species or water quality."
Anyone who finds a chunk of Starship or has property damage from the event should contact the company's debris hotline (Yes, they have one.), at 1-866-623-0234, or email u>recovery@spacex.com</u, officials said.
SpaceX has faced criticism for its previous Starship test failures. Its executives insist that building fast, destroying expensive hardware, and learning quickly from mistakes are all part of the company's philosophy — in stark contrast with NASA's much slower approach.
Musk has previously complained that federal regulations have a chokehold on his company, impeding its progress and ability to conduct rapid testing. Industry watchers have speculated that his new close ties with Trump will remove some of that bureaucratic red tape.
NASA will depend on the rocket company to ferry astronauts to the lunar surface on a modified Starship for the Artemis III and IV moon missions under a $4.2 billion contract. To do that, SpaceX first has to master refueling its spaceship in space. For Musk, Starship is also a passion project to eventually send people to Mars and build a self-sustaining city on the Red Planet.
"With a test like this, success comes from what we learn," the company said on X, "and today’s flight will help us improve Starship’s reliability."
