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Dow Jones NewsJan 17, 2:03 AM UTC
DJ SpaceX Starship Spacecraft Explodes During Test Flight -- 3rd Update
By Micah Maidenberg
An uncrewed vehicle operated by SpaceX exploded during a test flight on Thursday, temporarily disrupting air travel as pieces of it streaked across the sky.
SpaceX launched its Starship rocket from a company site in Texas a little after 5:30 p.m. ET, the company's seventh mission of a powerful-but-still-experimental vehicle that consists of a booster that propels a spacecraft stacked on top.
The spacecraft separated from the booster shortly after liftoff, as designed, but soon exploded, according to a livestream of the mission provided by SpaceX.
Not long after the breakup, social-media users began posting videos of what apparently were parts of the spacecraft burning through the sky. Musk, the company's founder and chief executive, reposted one video, saying, "Success is uncertain, but entertainment is guaranteed!"
He later said initial data indicated a leak in part of the ship, which built up more pressure inside the vehicle than it could vent out. SpaceX said on X it would review data from the test to better understand the mishap's cause.
Jennifer Klestinski, on vacation in Turks and Caicos, was at dinner Thursday when she started to see parts of the exploded vehicle. She said they looked like fireworks, but traveling in the wrong direction.
"I was grateful we were underneath the overhang of the restaurant," she said.
The explosion prompted aircraft flying in the Caribbean region to hold their positions or divert to other routes to avoid any potential debris from the spacecraft, according to Flightradar24, an aviation-tracking service.
Departures from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and Miami International Airport faced delays after the spacecraft's failure, according to notices published on the Federal Aviation Administration's website.
Following the loss of the spacecraft, the FAA said it activated a debris-response plan to guard against planes potentially getting hit. That kept aircraft from flying through certain areas.
"The FAA briefly slowed and diverted aircraft around the area where space-vehicle debris was falling. Normal operations have resumed," the agency said around 7:45 p.m.
The agency oversees private space launches and re-entries to ensure they don't create safety risks.
SpaceX's rocket took off from the company's Starbase complex, located along the Gulf of Mexico near Brownsville, Texas, and flew east.
Rockets are typically launched over water to avoid putting people and property at risk in the event there is an accident or failure. SpaceX has long pushed rockets and space vehicles to their limits during development campaigns, to gain data and insights.
On Thursday, SpaceX aimed to have Starship's spacecraft fly through space and return to Earth and land in the Indian Ocean, similar to previous missions. The test flight Thursday also included a successful catch of the rocket's booster just over seven minutes after liftoff, repeating a feat accomplished in October.
The spacecraft the company flew had many new upgrades, according to a post on SpaceX's website. Changes included redesigns of the vehicle's propulsion system.
Musk said on X that the booster the company caught was already back on its launch mount. SpaceX's long-term goal is for Starship to make quick-turn flights to orbit, carrying payloads and astronauts.
--Alison Sider contributed to this article.
Write to Micah Maidenberg at micah.maidenberg@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 16, 2025 21:03 ET (02:03 GMT)
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