Passengers on a boat near the Bahamas captured the moment a SpaceX Starship exploded midair. The incident also caused major airport disruptions as debris streaked across the sky.
The rocket launched from SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Texas at 5:30 p.m. CT on March 6, 2025, for its eighth test flight. Initially, the mission progressed as planned, with the Super Heavy booster igniting all 33 Raptor engines to propel Starship through the first stage of its ascent.
During Starship's ascent burn, the vehicle experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly and contact was lost. Our team immediately began coordination with safety officials to implement pre-planned contingency responses.
We will review the data from today's flight test to better…
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) March 7, 2025
Around two and a half minutes into the flight, as part of its scheduled sequence, the booster shut down most of its engines before separating from the upper stage. Starship then ignited six Raptor engines and continued its ascent.
Meanwhile, the booster executed a controlled descent, reigniting most of its planned engines and successfully landing in the launch tower’s catch arms. This is a maneuver that SpaceX has now completed successfully for the third time.
With a test like this, success comes from what we learn, and today’s flight will help us improve Starship’s reliability. We will conduct a thorough investigation, in coordination with the FAA, and implement corrective actions to make improvements on future Starship flight tests… pic.twitter.com/3ThPm0Yzky
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) March 7, 2025
Before reaching the intended altitude, Starship experienced a failure in its aft section, which resulted in the loss of multiple Raptor engines. This caused the vehicle to lose stability, and approximately nine and a half minutes after launch, all communication with the rocket was lost.
Just saw Starship 8 blow up from our flight @elonmusk @SpaceX pic.twitter.com/RyDzUtXzpo
— DegenZee (@Degen_Zee) March 7, 2025
SpaceX later reported that the vehicle had disassembled unexpectedly. As the rocket broke apart, bright streaks of debris became visible in the night sky, stretching from Florida to the Caribbean. Spectators in various locations observed the event, with some capturing videos that showed the spacecraft spinning before disintegrating.
Eyewitnesses reported seeing debris falling from the sky. Brett Boswick, who was watching the launch from a boat near the Bahamas, described the scene, saying, “We saw a very big explosion — a fireball.”
“Unfortunately, this happened last time too, so we’ve got some practice at this now,” another observer commented on the anomaly. In response to the debris, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered ground stops at Miami International Airport and three other major airports in Florida.
The launch had taken place within a designated corridor to ensure that any falling debris would remain within a predetermined area. SpaceX later confirmed that the wreckage contained no hazardous materials and that no significant environmental impact was expected.
The FAA later confirmed that SpaceX would need to conduct a full mishap investigation to determine the root cause of the failure and submit a final report for approval.
How would you like to see this above your #catamaran ? #SpaceX #Elon #starship8 pic.twitter.com/xCjntoUoTZ
— GeneDoctor (@GeneDoctorB) March 7, 2025
They added that corrective measures would be implemented where necessary. This test flight occurred less than two months after the previous Starship launch also failed. No astronauts were aboard, and there were no reported injuries.
Following the incident, SpaceX confirmed that its team immediately coordinated with safety officials and began analyzing flight data. The company emphasized that information gathered from the test would be used to improve Starship’s reliability for future launches.