Watch: SpaceX test ends in blast at Texas site; all personnel safe, say officials
A SpaceX Starship prototype experienced a major anomaly during a test at the company's Starbase facility in Texas late Wednesday night, the company said on social media X.
The rocket was seen bursting into a giant ball of fire during a routine test.
The Starship 36 rocket was undergoing a static fire test at Elon Musk's Starbase site when its nose suddenly burst open, as seen in shocking footage.
The blast caused the screen to flash white for a moment.
When the light faded, a huge fireball spread across the ground while thick black smoke rose into the night sky.
The incident happened around 11 pm. CT on June 18 while the spacecraft was on a test stand.
SpaceX confirmed that all personnel are safe and accounted for, and that a safety perimeter had been maintained throughout the operation.
The company's Starbase team is now working with local officials to secure the test site and the surrounding area. SpaceX said there are no hazards to people in nearby communities.
'We ask that individuals do not attempt to approach the area while safing operations continue,' the company stated.
This was part of preparations for Starship's tenth flight test, although it is unclear how the anomaly will affect future plans.
by Taboola
by Taboola
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Promoted Links
Promoted Links
You May Like
5 Books Warren Buffett Wants You to Read In 2025
Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List
Undo
The cause of the anomaly has not been released.
According to ValleyCentral, residents have reported that the massive explosion shook windows and rattled dishes,
Firefighters rushed to the scene as the City of Port Isabel told residents that SpaceX had a problem during testing. Officials said they are keeping an eye on the situation, according to KRGV.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Mint
an hour ago
- Mint
Your wait for a Tesla robo-taxi ride is almost over, Musk says
The wait to try Tesla's robo-taxi service for most residents of Austin, Texas, not to mention investors and reporters, is almost over. Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted recently that his company's robo-taxis would be 'open access next month." That's September. So anyone wanting to try out the offering and compare it to Alphabet's Waymo self-driving taxi operation should be able to do it in two to six weeks. Tesla launched its self-driving taxis in Austin eight weeks ago. It was a modest launch with a handful of Tesla Model Ys ferrying Tesla-selected passengers around a limited section of Austin with a safety monitor in the front passenger seat. Still, the car did the driving, and Tesla has slowly expanded the area of Austin served by its self-driving cars. But Tesla hasn't yet opened up the service to anyone willing to try it. That, apparently, will change soon. There should be additional software upgrades by September. Tesla's robo-taxis essentially run using the company's Full Self Driving, or FSD, software. The AI-trained product improves—which is to say drives a little better—with each new iteration. 'The FSD release in about 6 weeks will be a dramatic gain," added Musk in a tweet from August 10. 'It's going through training and testing now." Tesla's self-driving systems use optical cameras and the FSD software. Waymo, which completes more than 250,000 fully autonomous taxi rides each week, uses radar, laser-based radar, or lidar, and cameras, along with advanced software. Waymo is the much larger self-driving taxi service now, but Tesla is betting its simpler, less costly, camera-only technology and manufacturing scale will make it the self-driving leader. Essentially, any Tesla manufactured recently running the most up-to-date FSD software can become a robo-taxi, and Tesla can make millions of cars a year. Winning in self-driving cars is a big deal for both companies and anyone else designing self-driving cars. Wall Street pegs the opportunity for AI-trained ride-hailing services in the trillions of dollars. For many analysts bullish on Tesla stock, the company's AI projects, including humanoid robots and self-driving technology, account for up to 75% of the company's total valuation. Tesla is valued at roughly $1 trillion. Tesla stock closed at $322.16 the day before it launched the robo-taxis on June 22. It closed on Friday at $328.54, up a little more than $6 a share. Investors might be waiting to see additional progress before bidding shares higher. Musk, as always, has big plans. 'I think we'll probably have autonomous ride-hailing in probably half of the population of the U.S. by the end of the year," said Musk on Tesla's second-quarter earnings conference call in July. 'That's at least our goal, subject to regulatory approvals. I think we'll technically be able to do it…But we are very, very cautious. We don't want to take any chances." Austin represents only a tiny fraction of the U.S. population. Getting to 50% in just a few months would be an impressive feat.
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
Taxman sets out to draw up a crypto code
MUMBAI: India's apex tax body has asked the cryptocurrency players whether the country needs a new law on virtual digital assets (VDA), which agency should administer such a statute, and whether the present tax regime has driven out traders and businesses to foreign shores. Crypto platforms have been also asked by the Central Board of Direct Taxes ( CBDT ) if the 1% tax-deducted-at-source (TDS) on every sale was too high, what should be the preferred TDS rate and why, and whether traders should be allowed to set off VDA losses to make the levy more equitable. A flurry of such questions, raising several other issues on the travails of the trade, have stoked hopes in the crypto industry which has been battered by stiff taxes, regulatory void, and Reserve Bank of India's customary aversion towards cryptos. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Undo Not only are crypto gains taxed at the income tax rate of 30% (unlike the lower capital gains tax on stock profits), VDA traders can't offset profits with losses to lower the tax outgo. Many high-street banks are reluctant to offer accounts dedicated to pay or receive funds from crypto trades following central bank senior officials occasionally voicing their reservations on VDAs. Besides, there is no clarity under RBI rules and the Foreign Exchange Management Act ( FEMA ) on whether residents can buy and sell cryptos on offshore platforms. Crypto Tracker TOP COIN SETS Web3 Tracker 2.75% Buy BTC 50 :: ETH 50 2.16% Buy Crypto Blue Chip - 5 1.09% Buy AI Tracker 0.52% Buy DeFi Tracker -0.71% Buy TOP COINS (₹) BNB 74,638 ( 1.46% ) Buy Solana 16,660 ( 0.79% ) Buy Ethereum 389,703 ( 0.75% ) Buy Bitcoin 10,268,224 ( -0.04% ) Buy XRP 270 ( -0.59% ) Buy A combination of such factors has caused many large crypto investors to shift their trades-and in some cases even relocate-to Dubai which plans to position itself as the world's crypto capital. Did you Know? The world of cryptocurrencies is very dynamic. Prices can go up or down in a matter of seconds. Thus, having reliable answers to such questions is crucial for investors. View Details » Chances are India too may change tack, thanks to the crypto adaptation by advanced markets and the digital coins emerging as an asset class and underliers of US mutual funds. Live Events According to Purushottam Anand, advocate and founder of Crypto Legal, a blockchain and crypto-focused law firm, "Considering the G20 Synthesis Paper, Finance Track Communique, and the recent Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance announcement selecting VDAs for a detailed examination this year, it is likely that the government will introduce a comprehensive VDA regulation. India has consistently emphasised that regulation or banning can be effective only with significant international collaboration." Since China remains the only major economy to impose a blanket ban, the global consensus today clearly leans towards regulation rather than prohibition, said Anand. SEBI , RBI, MeitY , or FIU-IND? Crypto platforms were asked to share their views by mid-August to the data analytics cell of CBDT. Here are some of the specific questions raised by CBDT: (a) Do you think the current VDA regulation in India is adequate or a comprehensive VDA law is required and the agency which you consider should be authorised to administer it (e.g, Sebi, RBI, MeitY, FIU-IND)? (b) What percentage of trading volumes has moved offshore, and under what circumstances (eg tax concerns, regulation, liquidity)? Which are the jurisdictions where users/businesses are shifting? (c) How would you compare India's VDA tax framework with major jurisdictions? (d) Have you observed any market impact due to the disallowance of loss set-off or carry-forward? In your view, how has the 30% flat tax affected volumes, liquidity etc? (e) What is the biggest challenge in implementing the TDS-identifying counterparty's residency status, calculating the market value of VDA, handling peer-to-peer transactions, or reporting to the income tax department's centralised processing centre? (f) Should there be different TDS treatment for market makers, or retail or institutional transactions? (g) What measures could be considered to ensure a level playing field between domestic and offshore VDA exchanges, particularly in relation to tax compliance for Indian customers? Since two years some exchanges have begun offering derivative products like crypto futures and more recently crypto options where the TDS impact is considerably lower. CDBT in its questionnaire has asked whether there was lack of legal clarity in derivatives, cross-border VDA transactions, and even in the very definition of VDA. Platforms have to also spell out whether they are ready for OECD's crypto-asset reporting framework (CARF)-a global plan to curb tax evasion and money-laundering.
Time of India
3 hours ago
- Time of India
India gets its first privately funded institute for maths research
Representational Image MUMBAI: India, said Fields medallist Manjul Bhargava, must fall in love with mathematics again. Not as a "drudgery of formulae" but as an act of "exploration". Bhargava, Canadian by nationality but of Indian origin, believes classrooms need an overhaul-"experimental, playful," he said, with teachers "trained" to spark curiosity. Speaking to TOI on the sidelines of the launch of the Lodha Mathematical Sciences Institute (LMSI), he added: "I'm happy with the new textbooks and the changes brought in them. But they will only show impact in a few years." On the scientific advisory council of LMSI, Bhargava will lead sessions on arithmetic statistics, its new developments, and future directions. State cabinet minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha called it a school "not for an individual, not for a business, but for the nation that always prioritised knowledge over all and for India that gave so much math to the world." Entirely devoted to post-doctoral research, LMSI is India's first privately funded mathematics institute, backed by Lodha Foundation with a Rs 20,000 crore endowment. "We realised that for any nation to become strong, we ought to have original thinking and promote innovation," said Abhishek Lodha, CEO and MD of Lodha Developers. The privately funded mathematics research institute in the country is completely free, he added. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Could This NEW Collagen Blend Finally Reduce Your Cellulite? Vitauthority Learn More Undo Founding director V Kumar Murthy-who earlier led Toronto's Fields Institute-described math as the hidden scaffolding of modern life: the foundation for finance, engineering, and technology. Economist Nachiket Mor, also on the advisory panel, noted that models built in the West often collapse in India because they rarely account for "unique characteristics" like limited liquidity and higher viscosity of adjustment. "This reality makes it all the more urgent for us to build deep capacity mathematics," he said. Murthy explained that LMSI would begin not with students but with teachers. Ten senior number theorists have been chosen to seed the effort. As president, Murthy said he plans to travel across the country, meeting mathematicians firsthand and mapping who is doing what. The aim is to build a network where the "brightest minds" are spotted early, handpicked, and nurtured. By Dec 2026, LMSI will host the first Indian Congress of Mathematicians, showcasing contributions of Indian-origin mathematicians worldwide.
