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SpaceX Starship rocket explodes in setback to Musk's Mars mission
The explosion occurred around 11 p.m. local time while Starship was on a test stand at its Brownsville, Texas Starbase while preparing for the tenth test flight, SpaceX said
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Reuters - Thu, 19, Jun 2025
- 15:42 EDT
- 12
Flames rise as a SpaceX rocket explodes in Brownsville, Texas, U.S., June 18, 2025, in this screengrab obtained from a social media video. / TheRocketFuture via X/via REUTERS
SpaceX's massive Starship spacecraft exploded into a dramatic fireball during testing in Texas late on June 18, the latest in a series of setbacks for billionaire Elon Musk’s Mars rocket program.
The explosion occurred around 11 p.m. local time while Starship was on a test stand at its Brownsville, Texas Starbase while preparing for the tenth test flight, SpaceX said in a post on Musk’s social-media platform X.
Also Read: India grants licence to Musk's Starlink
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 company attributed it to a "major anomaly,” and said all personnel were safe.
“Preliminary data suggests that a nitrogen COPV in the payload bay failed below its proof pressure,” Musk said in a post on X, in a reference to a nitrogen gas storage unit known as a Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessel. “If further investigation confirms that this is what happened, it is the first time ever for this design,” he continued.
SpaceX didn’t immediately respond to a request for further comment.
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