SpaceX’s Starship Breaks Apart Mid-Flight, Prompting Airline Disruptions

Elon Musk acknowledges failure while teasing that 'success is uncertain, but entertainment is guaranteed'

SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft broke apart mid-flight on Thursday, forcing airlines to adjust their routes to avoid falling debris. While the company successfully landed the first-stage booster of the spacecraft, the new-generation, uncrewed vehicle was lost during its ascent.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) temporarily diverted aircraft to avoid the path of the debris, though normal operations resumed shortly after. At least 20 flights had to alter their courses, according to data from FlightRadar24, with social media footage showing parts of the spacecraft reentering the atmosphere over the Caribbean.

Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, acknowledged the mission’s failure, suggesting that the breakup was likely caused by an oxygen or fuel leak in the area above the ship's engine firewall. “Apart from obviously double-checking for leaks, we will add fire suppression to that volume and probably increase vent area,” Musk shared in a post on X, his social media platform. He also expressed confidence in SpaceX’s ability to push forward, saying, “Nothing so far suggests pushing next launch past next month.”

Despite the setback, Musk took the opportunity to joke about the mission’s outcome, posting a video of falling debris and quipping: “Success is uncertain, but entertainment is guaranteed!”

The spacecraft, which was on its inaugural flight, lost communication with SpaceX ground control around eight and a half minutes after liftoff from the company’s launch site near Brownsville, Texas. Starship, which carried 10 dummy satellites, was intended to complete a partial orbit of Earth.

In a statement on X, SpaceX confirmed that the vehicle had experienced what it called a “rapid unscheduled disassembly” during the ascent. “Teams will continue to review data from today’s flight test to better understand root cause,” the company stated, adding, “With a test like this, success comes from what we learn, and today’s flight will help us improve Starship’s reliability.”

This was the seventh test flight of SpaceX’s Starship, a craft Musk envisions as a key vehicle for transporting humans and cargo to Mars.

Earlier on the same day, Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin achieved a milestone by successfully launching its New Glenn rocket into orbit, intensifying the competition in the growing commercial space travel industry.

Following Blue Origin’s success, Musk humorously compared his relationship with Bezos to the dynamic of Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly’s characters in the 2008 comedy Step Brothers, further adding to the competitive banter between the two space moguls.