SpaceX Starship Fails During Test Mission
SpaceX Starship fails, suffers another setback on Thursday (March 6) when it lost contact with its Starship rocket in space. The mission, which aimed to demonstrate satellite deployment, ended in failure. This marks the company’s second consecutive Starship failure this year.
SpaceX Starship Fails, Breaks Apart Over South Florida and the Bahamas
Videos circulating on social media captured debris streaking across the skies near South Florida and the Bahamas. The breakup occurred after a SpaceX live stream showed the Starship upper stage tumbling uncontrollably. The loss of contact ultimately sealed the mission’s failure.
Launch and Unexpected Failure in Space
The 403-foot (123-meter) Starship rocket system launched successfully at around 6:30 p.m. ET (2300 GMT) from SpaceX’s Boca Chica facility in Texas. The Super Heavy first-stage booster completed its return landing as planned. However, just minutes later, the live stream revealed the upper stage spinning in space. A visualisation of the rocket’s engines showed multiple shutdowns before SpaceX confirmed communication loss.
FAA Imposes Temporary Flight Restrictions
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) temporarily halted flights at major Florida airports, including Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Palm Beach, and Orlando. These ground stops were issued due to concerns over “space launch debris” and remained in effect until at least 8 p.m. ET.
Setback for Musk’s Starship Development Plans
This failure adds to the challenges facing SpaceX’s Starship development program. CEO Elon Musk has been pushing for rapid advancements in 2025. However, with this latest setback—following a similar failure in January—his vision of a rocket capable of launching large satellite batches and carrying humans to the Moon and Mars faces new hurdles.
With inputs from Reuters
