SpaceX Rocket Explodes Mid-Flight: What Caused The Explosion?

Elon Musk's SpaceX Starship exploded minutes after its liftoff on Thursday. The spacecraft that is seen as the spacecraft for future interplanetary missions, exploded abruptly even though the launch from SpaceX's South Texas facility was successful, initially.

The SpaceX mission was aimed at pushing boundaries of reusable spacecraft technology.

After its liftoff, communication with the spacecraft was lost around eight minutes into the flight, leading to a "rapid unscheduled disassembly."

What Caused The Explosion?

SpaceX CEO, Elon Musk, took to X to talk about the mishap. According to preliminary investigations an oxygen or fuel leak above the engine firewall led to a dangerous pressure buildup, overwhelming the system's venting capabilities and ultimately causing the rocket's destruction.

Announcing corrective measures immediately Musk said, "Apart from obviously double-checking for leaks, we will add fire suppression to that volume and probably increase vent area."

He also added that the next launch, which is going to happen next month, remains on track despite the setback.

The CEO also highlighted the unprecedented scale of the vehicle, saying, "Atmospheric reentry speed is more than twice as fast as a bullet from an assault rifle, and this is the largest flying object ever made."

How Far Is Mars?

The aim behind this test flight was part of Elon Musk's broader goal to build a rocket capable of ferrying human beings and cargo to Mars. The explosion marks the seventh Starship test since 2023.

Even though the failure is disappointing it is part of SpaceX's "test-to-failure" approach, where prototypes are pushed to their engineering limits to gather data for future improvements.