Latest news with #LabPadre
Wall Street Journal
9 hours ago
- Science
- Wall Street Journal
Watch: SpaceX Starship Explodes After ‘Major Anomaly'
SpaceX's latest Starship exploded into a giant fireball during an engine test on June 18 at the company's Texas facility. The company blamed a "major anomaly" and said all personnel were safe. Photo: LabPadre via Storyful
CBS News
11 hours ago
- Science
- CBS News
SpaceX Starship upper stage explodes during ramp-up to expected engine test firing
A SpaceX Starship upper stage exploded in a spectacular conflagration during ramp-up to an expected engine test firing at the company's Starbase manufacturing facility on the Texas Gulf Coast late Wednesday, destroying the rocket in what appears to be a major setback for the Super Heavy-Starship vehicle Elon Musk says is critical to the company's future. Video from LabPadre, a company that monitors SpaceX activities at Starbase, showed the Starship suddenly exploded in a huge fireball just after 11 p.m. CDT, 10 to 15 minutes before the anticipated engine test firing, sending flaming debris shooting away into the overnight sky from a churning fireball that engulfed the test stand. A SpaceX Starship upper stage blew up late on June 18, 2025 at the SpaceX Starbase manufacturing facility on the Texas Gulf Coast. LabPadre via Storyful The video showed what appeared to be two major explosions, the first detonation near the nose of the rocket followed a moment later by a second eruption of flame and debris on the left side of the spacecraft. The test stand disappeared in a billowing fireball that rose into the overnight sky like a bomb blast. The Starship was being filled with a full load of liquid oxygen and a partial load of high-energy methane fuel when the detonations occurred. Ninety minutes after the initial blast, fires appeared to still be burning out of control at what is known as the Massey test site, where cryogenic testing and hotfire tests are typically conducted. "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," SpaceX said in a statement on the social media platform X. "A safety clear area around the site was maintained throughout the operation and all personnel are safe and accounted for. Our Starbase team is actively working to safe the test site and the immediate surrounding area in conjunction with local officials. "There are no hazards to residents in surrounding communities, and we ask that individuals do not attempt to approach the area." The explosion's impact on the test site infrastructure was not immediately known. SpaceX has a history of making relatively quick recoveries from failures or setbacks but this mishap, along with destroying a nearly-ready-to-launch Starship, may have caused significant damage to Starbase infrastructure. In any case, the next test flight will be indefinitely delayed. Known as Ship 36, SpaceX was expected to launch the Starship atop a huge Super Heavy booster around the end of the month on the integrated rocket's tenth unpiloted test fight. Hotfire tests are a normal precursor to actual flights, allowing engineers to verify upgrades and overall performance prior to committing it to launch. SpaceX has launched nine Super Heavy-Starship test flights since April 2023. The first three flights ended with explosions or breakups that destroyed both stages. The fourth, fifth and sixth test flights were partially successful, but two of the three most recent flights ended with Starship explosions before the spacecraft could reach its planned sub-orbital trajectory. The third, most recent flight on May 27 reached its planned trajectory but spun out of control and broke up during atmospheric entry. NASA is counting on the giant rocket to launch a Starship variant carrying astronauts to a landing near the moon's south pole in the next two or three years. To get the Human Landing System -- HLS -- Starship variant to the moon, SpaceX will need to launch 10 to 20 Super Heavy-Starships to refuel the lander in low-Earth orbit before it can head for the moon to await the arrival of the astronauts aboard a Lockheed Martin-built Orion crew capsule. Given the complexity of the architecture, the need to launch multiple Super Heavy-Starships, perfect the autonomous transfer of super cold propellants and new technology to keep the cryogenic liquid methane and oxygen from warming up and boiling away in space, failures like Wednesday's will make the schedule all the tougher to meet.
Express Tribune
11 hours ago
- Science
- Express Tribune
SpaceX explosion: Starship 36 explodes on ground in Texas, possible reasons explored
A SpaceX Starship prototype suffered a dramatic explosion late night on June 18 during pre-launch preparations at the company's Starbase facility in South Texas, marking the latest setback in the spacecraft's development programme. The incident involved Ship 36, which was undergoing preparations for a static fire test—a routine trial of rocket engines—when it experienced what SpaceX described as a 'major anomaly' around 11 p.m. Central Time (CT). The explosion occurred at the Massey's Testing Centre, located near Brownsville, just before the engines were set to ignite. Footage from livestreams operated by NASASpaceflight and LabPadre captured flames and plumes of smoke continuing to rise from the site well after the initial blast. Commentary on the NASASpaceflight feed suggested the explosion happened roughly 30 minutes after propellant loading began and before any engine fire sequence had started. SpaceX issued a statement on social media platform X about 90 minutes later, confirming that a safety perimeter had been established before the test and that 'all personnel are safe and accounted for.' The company added, 'There are no hazards to residents in surrounding communities.' 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 cause of the explosion has yet to be identified. It comes in the wake of multiple recent Starship test failures, including explosions during the seventh, eighth, and ninth flight tests earlier this year. SpaceX stated that teams were 'actively working to safe the test site and the immediate surrounding area in conjunction with local officials' and urged the public to avoid the area while emergency operations continued. Starship, a fully reusable rocket system, is central to SpaceX's plans to send cargo and humans to the Moon and Mars. Despite a series of high-profile failures, the company has continued testing aggressively at Starbase as part of its long-term ambitions.
