WATCH SpaceX Starship explode on splashdown ‘as expected’

SpaceX’s Starship rocket exploded in a fireball after splashing down in the Indian Ocean on Friday, capping what the company described as a successful test flight of its next-generation spacecraft.

The massive rocket lifted off from SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Texas at around 6:30 PM EST and flew for around 66 minutes before the upper-stage Starship reentered the atmosphere, performed its landing burn, and reached its planned splashdown zone.

Seconds after touching the water, the vehicle tipped over and burst into flames, footage from SpaceX’s livestream shows.

Splashdown confirmed! Congratulations to the entire SpaceX team on the twelfth flight test of Starship! pic.twitter.com/XXBAtryPpL

The explosion was not considered a failure, as the spacecraft was not designed to be recovered from the ocean. Many previous Starship test flights have also ended with the vehicle exploding during reentry or landing attempts, but SpaceX treats these incidents as part of its rapid development program.

During the mission, the Starship deployed dummy Starlink satellites around 20 minutes after launch and tested new hardware, including heat-shield changes intended to stress the vehicle during reentry.

Views of Starship in space from a @Starlink satellite pic.twitter.com/5hfw1n8v1o

At least one of the spacecraft’s six engines reportedly malfunctioned during the flight, but the vehicle still completed its main objectives and reached the splashdown zone.