SpaceX’s highly anticipated Starship rocket exploded shortly after liftoff on Thursday, March 6, 2025, sending shockwaves through the space community and grounding flights across multiple Florida airports.
The rocket, which was launched from SpaceX’s Starbase near Boca Chica, Texas, experienced an “unscheduled disassembly” during its ascent, as explained by SpaceX in a statement.
Communication with the spacecraft was lost approximately eight minutes into the flight, and the vehicle began to spin.
SpaceX’s communications manager, Dan Huot, reported during the webcast that “we just saw some engines go out” and that it appeared the rocket was losing altitude control before the explosion occurred.
As a result of the explosion, flights from major Florida airports, including Miami International, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International, and Philadelphia International, were delayed due to “space launch debris,” according to reports from outlets like CNN and The Hill.
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Smaller airports in West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, and Orlando were also impacted. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) activated a Debris Response Area and temporarily slowed or stopped aircraft departing from the region.
Despite the mishap, SpaceX responded quickly, assuring the public that they were coordinating with safety officials to follow contingency protocols.
The company stated they would conduct a “mishap investigation” to determine the cause of the failure, with SpaceX expressing hope that valuable lessons would be learned to improve the Starship’s reliability in future flights.
This is not the first time Starship has faced trouble. Earlier this year, a test flight in January resulted in another explosion, which caused debris to fall over the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Following Thursday’s incident, the government of Turks and Caicos released a statement reassuring the public that post-incident safety protocols were being followed, and the FAA, SpaceX, and UK agencies were working together to ensure safety.
