Texas: SpaceX’s Starship rocket exploded in a dramatic fireball during a ground test at its Starbase facility in Brownsville, Texas, marking the latest in a series of technical setbacks for Elon Musk’s highly anticipated Mars-bound spacecraft.
The explosion occurred around 11 p.m. local time on Wednesday night, while the 400-foot-tall rocket was undergoing pre-flight preparations on a test stand.
Video footage of the incident showed at least two rapid, successive explosions, lighting up the night sky and scattering debris across the site. SpaceX confirmed that no injuries were reported and all on-site personnel were safe.
SpaceX described the cause of the explosion as a “major anomaly.” The company said its engineering teams had launched a full investigation and were working closely with local, state, and federal authorities to assess any environmental or safety impacts.
Insane explosion at static test for Space X Starship pic.twitter.com/1OJacK0q4V
— Paul Prosise (@PaulProsise) June 19, 2025
“Preliminary data suggests that a nitrogen COPV in the payload bay failed below its proof pressure,” Elon Musk wrote on X, referring to a high-pressure nitrogen storage vessel known as a Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessel.
The incident is the fourth high-profile failure involving Starship this year. In late May, the rocket lost control mid-flight and failed to meet key testing objectives, despite flying farther than earlier failed launches.
In March, another Starship exploded in space shortly after liftoff, prompting the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to temporarily halt air traffic in parts of Florida as debris fell over the Bahamas and South Florida.
An earlier mishap in January saw a Starship rocket break apart minutes after takeoff, scattering wreckage over Caribbean islands and damaging a vehicle in the Turks and Caicos.
On Wednesday, June 18 at approximately 11 p.m. CT, the Starship preparing for the tenth flight test experienced a major anomaly while on a test stand at Starbase. A safety clear area around the site was maintained throughout the operation and all personnel are safe and accounted…
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) June 19, 2025
The FAA has closely monitored SpaceX’s Starship development following these incidents. Earlier this month, the agency concluded its investigation into the March explosion and cited a hardware malfunction in one of the engines as the probable cause. SpaceX was required to implement eight corrective measures before resuming further tests.
Despite the repeated failures, SpaceX has continued to frame the tests as essential learning steps in developing a fully reusable launch system capable of carrying humans to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
The Starship system, the tallest and most powerful rocket ever built plays a central role in NASA’s Artemis program as well, with the agency counting on a version of the vehicle to land astronauts on the lunar surface later this decade.
