Elon Musk’s SpaceX rocket destroyed less than ten minutes after takeoff as footage shows major explosion

In a dramatic setback for Elon Musk’s SpaceX, their latest Starship rocket was destroyed in a fireball just over eight minutes after takeoff during a test flight on Thursday, January 16.

While the rocket carried no passengers, the incident marked a significant disappointment for the aerospace company, as the flight ended prematurely over the Gulf of Mexico. Falling debris reportedly forced commercial airlines to alter routes to avoid potential hazards.

A Short-Lived Flight

The Starship rocket launched from Texas with high expectations, but its six engines began shutting down one by one during ascent, causing the spacecraft to break apart mid-flight.

SpaceX’s livestream of the event confirmed the moment of failure, with the host stating:
“At this point in time, we can confirm we did lose the ship. It looks like we lost contact a little under eight and a half minutes into the flight.”

The rocket booster successfully returned to the launchpad (Sky News)

Videos shared across social media showed burning debris streaking through the skies, reportedly visible over the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Despite the mishap, the rocket’s booster successfully returned to the launchpad, momentarily hovering before being caught by mechanical arms—a partial success for the test mission.

SpaceX Reacts

Dan Huot, a spokesman for SpaceX, acknowledged the disappointment while emphasizing the experimental nature of the mission:
“It was great to see a booster come down, but we are obviously bummed out about the ship. It’s a flight test. It’s an experimental vehicle.”

Musk’s Optimism

True to form, Elon Musk remained optimistic about the situation. Taking to Twitter, he described the test flight as a learning experience rather than a failure:

“The booster flight was a success, the ship flight was 1/4 successful, hence cup being ~5/8 full.
New ship forward flaps, higher thrust engines, and tile adherence on ascent were tested. Improved heat shield performance was the only major thing that wasn’t tested, along with the ‘Pez’ payload dispenser. Probably solved in next month’s launch.”

Elon Musk called the incident nothing more than a ‘bump in the road’ (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Musk further downplayed the impact of the setback, explaining that Starship’s development and its role in SpaceX’s long-term goals—like colonizing Mars—remain on track:
“The 9-meter diameter version of Starship will probably fly ~10,000 times, so this is barely a bump in the road. Doesn’t change the likely date at which Mars becomes self-sufficient.”

SpaceX’s Approach to Learning

SpaceX later released a statement acknowledging the incident and promising to analyze data from the flight test to identify what went wrong. The company reiterated its philosophy of learning from failures to drive innovation forward.

However, the company faced some light ridicule online after describing the rocket’s destruction as a “rapid unscheduled disassembly.”

Moving Forward

While this latest incident may be a setback, Musk’s remarks and SpaceX’s resilience highlight the company’s commitment to pushing the boundaries of space exploration. With lessons learned, the next launch will aim to address the issues and bring humanity one step closer to interplanetary travel.