WASHINGTON: A SpaceX Starship prototype failed in space minutes after launching from Texas, forcing airline flights over the Gulf of Mexico to alter course to avoid falling debris and setting back Elon Musk’s flagship rocket programme.
SpaceX mission control lost contact with the newly upgraded Starship, carrying its first test payload of mock satellites, eight minutes after liftoff from its South Texas rocket facilities on Thursday at 5:38pm.
Video shot by Reuters showed orange balls of light streaking across the sky over the Haitian capital of Port-Au-Prince, leaving trails of smoke behind.
“We did lose all communications with the ship — that is essentially telling us we had an anomaly with the upper stage,” SpaceX Communications Manager Dan Huot said, confirming minutes later that the ship was lost.
At Miami International Airport, some flights were grounded, according to a Reuters witness.
At least 20 commercial flights diverted to other airports or altered course to avoid potential debris, based on flight records from tracking website FlightRadar24.
SpaceX CEO Musk posted a video on X showing the debris field and said: “Success is uncertain, but entertainment is guaranteed!”
The Starship upper stage, 2 metres (6.56 feet) taller than previous versions, was a “new generation ship with significant upgrades,” SpaceX said in a mission description prior to the test.
Published in Dawn, January 18th, 2025