SpaceX Starship Prototype Explodes in Texas Test, Fourth Failure This Year

SpaceX’s Starship upper-stage prototype, Ship 36, exploded on its test stand at the company’s Starbase site near Brownsville, Texas, at about 11:01 p.m. Central Time on 18 June during preparations for a static-fire engine test ahead of its tenth flight. The blast sent a fireball high into the night sky, but authorities said the area had been cleared in advance and no injuries were reported.

The company described the incident as a “major anomaly.” Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk wrote on X that preliminary data indicate a high-pressure nitrogen composite overwrapped pressure vessel in the payload bay failed below its proof pressure, a first for this design. SpaceX engineers are working with local, state and federal agencies to secure the site and determine the precise cause.

The loss marks Starship’s fourth failure this year and adds to mounting challenges for the fully reusable, 122-metre rocket system that underpins Musk’s ambition to send crews to Mars and NASA’s Artemis plan to land astronauts near the lunar south pole by 2027. While SpaceX’s rapid, iterative test philosophy accepts such setbacks, the latest explosion is expected to delay the next integrated Starship launch.