By Olivier Acuña Barba •
Revealed: 19 Jun 2025 • 11:03
• 2 minutes learn
The explosion occurred a minimum of half-hour earlier than the launch of SpaceX’s tenth flight check Credit: SpaceX
SpaceX was about to carry out a static hearth check of Ship 36 late Wednesday evening, forward of its tenth flight check for its Starship, when all of a sudden a large explosion occurred at Massey’s Testing Centre website.
“A security clear space across the website was maintained all through the operation, and all personnel are secure and accounted for,” stated SpaceX. Subsequently, the explosion introduced no hazards to native residents of the not too long ago included city of Starbase, Texas.
The explosion, brought on by an anomaly, was caught on video, The Verge reported. The failed check follows the explosion of SpaceX’s ninth flight check late final month, as reported by todaysviralmedia. In response to The Verge, the SpaceX check website continued to burn a minimum of two hours after the explosion, with dwell digital camera feeds from NASA Spaceflight and LabPadre displaying the positioning, in addition to the response from native hearth departments.
half-hour earlier than load sequencing
In response to the folks narrating on NASA Spaceflight, the explosion occurred roughly half-hour after the propellant load sequence started, earlier than the static hearth check was supposed to begin. On X, NASA wrote “ANOMALY! Simply earlier than Ship 36 was set to Static Hearth, it blew up at SpaceX Masseys!” The submit features a video of the large explosion.
The Verge defined that in a static hearth check, the car’s rocket engines hearth whereas it stays hooked up to the launch mount, so Ship 36 was not scheduled to raise off simply but.
The small print of the reason for this newest incident and the extent of attainable harm to the check website haven’t but been revealed.
A significant anomaly
Fox 26 Houston stated that, in keeping with authorities, no accidents have been reported, whereas KRGV Information stated that Brownsville Hearth Division crews have been responding to the scene of the explosion.
SpaceX issued this assertion concerning the incident about 90 minutes after the incident in a submit on X: “On Wednesday, June 18, at roughly 11 p.m. CT, the Starship making ready for the tenth flight check skilled a serious anomaly whereas on a check stand at Starbase. A secure clear space across the website was maintained all through the operation, and all personnel are secure and accounted for.”
And it went on: “Our Starbase crew is actively working to save lots of the check website and the rapid surrounding space at the side of native officers. There aren’t any hazards to residents in surrounding communities, and we ask that people don’t try to strategy the realm whereas safing operations proceed.”
This flight check would have continued utilizing SpaceX’s “V2” Starship design, which Elon Musk stated in 2023 “holds extra propellant, reduces dry mass and improves reliability.”
SpaceX can also be making ready a brand new V3 design, in keeping with Musk, which is predicted to achieve a fee of launching as soon as every week in roughly 12 months.