HOUSTON: One of Elon Musk’s SpaceX Starships exploded during a routine test in Texas on Wednesday, law enforcement officials said, in the latest setback to the billionaire’s dream of turning humanity into an interplanetary species.

The Starship 36 suffered “catastrophic failure and exploded” at the Starbase launch facility shortly after 11pm (0400 GMT) on Thursday, a Facebook post by Cameron County authorities said.

A video shared with the post showed the megarocket attached to the launch arm and then a flash and a towering, fiery explosion. Musk’s Space X said the rocket was preparing for the tenth flight test when it “experienced a major anomaly while on a test stand at Starbase,” without elaborating on the nature of the complication.

“A safety clear area around the site was maintained throughout the operation and all personnel are safe and accounted for,” Space X said on social media. “There are no hazards to residents in surrounding communities, and we ask that individuals do not attempt to approach the area while safing operations continue.” The Starship was not scheduled for launch on Wednesday evening when the explosion occurred during a “routine static fire test,” according to the Cameron County authorities.

During a static fire, part of the procedures preceding a launch, the Starship’s Super Heavy booster would be anchored to the ground to prevent it from lifting off during the test-firing. Starbase, on the south Texas coast near the border with Mexico, is the headquarters for Musk’s space project. Musk appeared to downplay the incident early on Thursday.

“Just a scratch,” he posted on his social media platform X, although without context it was unclear if he was referring to the fiery explosion of the rocket.

Published in Dawn, June 20th, 2025