Why Did SpaceX Starship Rocket Explode Minutes After Launch?

SpaceX Starship, which is the world’s biggest rocket, explodes moments after launch during its first flight. Elon Musk said that he learnt a lot after this failure.

The SpaceX Starship rocket exploded moments after launch due to a failure of the separation system between the Starship spacecraft and the first-stage rocket booster.

The separation was scheduled to occur 3 minutes into the flight, but it failed, causing the rocket to disintegrate in mid-air and explode in a ball of fire over the Gulf of Mexico.

Although the mission did not achieve its full 90-minute flight test and did not reach orbit, SpaceX and its CEO Elon Musk still considered it a success, as they learned from the test and will improve Starship’s reliability for future launches.

Experts had previously warned of technical issues and downplayed expectations for the inaugural flight, noting that the rocket was a very complicated and gigantic one, and there were many ways it could fail.

The Starship spacecraft is designed to carry crew and cargo and is intended to ferry astronauts to the Moon in late 2025, a mission known as Artemis III, which has been selected by NASA. 

Starship was the most powerful rocket built till date, consisting of a 164-foot tall spacecraft atop a 230-foot first-stage Super Heavy booster rocket.

SpaceX Starship Rocket Mission Events

SpaceX launched its Starship rocket on a test flight from Texas. The giant 400-foot rocket was supposed to separate from the booster and continue on to circle the world.

However, separation failed, and the rocket exploded over the Gulf of Mexico, four minutes into the flight. The launch was intended to test the rocket’s performance in combination with the spacecraft.

SpaceX had planned to use the Starship to send people and cargo to the Moon and eventually Mars. NASA has reserved a Starship for its next Moon mission, and tourists have already booked lunar flybys.