US aviation authorities temporarily halted flights at several Florida airports over concerns about debris from SpaceX’s Starship, which spun out of control shortly after launch.
A ground stop was placed on airports in Orlando and Miami after the failed launch over the Atlantic Ocean. It has since been lifted. No injuries or damage have been reported.
SpaceX confirmed the un-crewed ship had suffered “a rapid unscheduled disassembly” during its ascent into space, and lost contact with the ground.
A statement from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the flights in and out of airports would be delayed due to a “space launch incident”. This was the eighth mission to test the rocket, and its second consecutive failure.
The 123m (403ft) spaceship was meant to re-enter Earth’s orbit over the Indian Ocean after a one-hour flight.
Its Super Heavy booster, which helps it leave the ground, did manage successfully to return to the launchpad.
SpaceX, which is owned by billionaire Elon Musk, said teams immediately started co-ordinating with safety officials for “pre-planned contingency responses”.
The statement added that SpaceX would review data “to better understand root cause” of the accident.
“As always, success comes from what we learn, and today’s flight will offer additional lessons to improve Starship’s reliability.”‘
Musk has yet to comment on Thursday’s explosion.
The incident follows a test in January, which saw a Starship rocket fail minutes after launching from SpaceX’s Texas facility.
The FAA also briefly closed airports at the time, due to concerns about falling debris.
After January’s incident, the FAA grounded Starship launches and noted the failed effort led to property damage in the Turks and Caicos Islands in the Caribbean.
“Unfortunately this happened last time too, so we have some practice at this now,” SpaceX flight commentator Dan Huot told reporters at the launch site on Thursday.
Footage posted on X purported to show flaming rocket debris falling over the Caribbean Sea. In the Bahamas, people posted that they were seeking shelter in order to take cover from debris.
Starship is the biggest, most powerful rocket ever built, and is key to Musk’s ambitions for colonising Mars.
SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket – collectively referred to as Starship – is intended to be fully reusable, the company says.
Nasa hopes to use a modified version of the spaceship as a human lunar lander for its Artemis missions to return to the Moon.
In the more distant future, Musk wants Starship to make long-haul trips to Mars and back – about a nine-month trip each way.
By BBC News
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