SpaceX’s Starship rocket, Ship 36, suffered a dramatic explosion late Wednesday night during a routine static fire test at the company’s Starbase facility in South Texas.
The incident, which occurred at approximately 11:00 p.m. local time, was captured live on multiple livestreams, showing a massive fireball lighting up the night sky.
SpaceX confirmed the incident on social media, stating that the vehicle “experienced a major anomaly while on a test stand at Starbase.” Fortunately, no injuries were reported. “A safety clear area around the site was maintained throughout the operation and all personnel are safe and accounted for,” the company said in a post on X.
On Wednesday, June 18 at approximately 11 p.m. CT, the Starship preparing for the tenth flight test experienced a major anomaly while on a test stand at Starbase. A safety clear area around the site was maintained throughout the operation and all personnel are safe and accounted…
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) June 19, 2025
The test was part of preparations for Starship’s much-anticipated tenth flight, with Ship 36 having already undergone an initial single-engine static fire. Wednesday’s test was reportedly set to ignite all six Raptor engines on the upper stage, but the vehicle exploded moments before the full ignition could occur.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk reacted to the explosion with characteristic humor, posting “Just a scratch” on X, followed by a meme captioned “RIP Ship 36.” Musk later explained the possible cause of the explosion, saying preliminary data suggested the failure of a nitrogen COPV in the payload bay.
Preliminary data suggests that a nitrogen COPV in the payload bay failed below its proof pressure.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 19, 2025
If further investigation confirms that this is what happened, it is the first time ever for this design.
The explosion occurred at the Massey test site within the Starbase complex, not on the orbital launch pad. SpaceX emphasized that there is no risk to surrounding communities, but requested that individuals avoid the area while investigations continue.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is expected to oversee the inquiry into the cause of the anomaly, as it did for previous Starship incidents.
While no timeline had been confirmed for Flight 10, any projected launch date will now undoubtedly be delayed as SpaceX assesses the damage and confirms the source of the failure.
