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SpaceX's Starship failed launch: Florida airports halt flights | SpaceX's Starship failed launch: Florida airports halt flights |
(32 minutes later) | |
Watch: SpaceX rocket spins out of control in test flight failure | Watch: SpaceX rocket spins out of control in test flight failure |
US aviation authorities temporarily halted flights at several Florida airports over concerns about debris from SpaceX's Starship, which spun out of control shortly after launch. | |
A ground stop was placed on airports in Orlando and Miami after the failed launch over the Atlantic Ocean. It has since been lifted. No injuries or damage have been reported. | |
SpaceX confirmed the un-crewed ship had suffered "a rapid unscheduled disassembly" during its ascent into space, and lost contact with the ground. | |
A statement from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the flights in and out of airports would be delayed due to a "space launch incident". This was the eighth mission to test the rocket, and its second consecutive failure. | |
The 123m (403ft) spaceship was meant to re-enter Earth's orbit over the Indian Ocean after a one-hour flight. | |
Its Super Heavy booster, which helps it leave the ground, did manage successfully to return to the launchpad. | |
SpaceX, which is owned by billionaire Elon Musk, said teams immediately started co-ordinating with safety officials for "pre-planned contingency responses". | |
The statement added that SpaceX would review data "to better understand root cause" of the accident. | |
"As always, success comes from what we learn, and today's flight will offer additional lessons to improve Starship's reliability."' | "As always, success comes from what we learn, and today's flight will offer additional lessons to improve Starship's reliability."' |
Musk has yet to comment on Thursday's explosion. | |
The incident follows a test in January, which saw a Starship rocket fail minutes after launching from SpaceX's Texas facility. | |
The FAA also briefly closed airports at the time, due to concerns about falling debris. | The FAA also briefly closed airports at the time, due to concerns about falling debris. |
After January's incident, the FAA grounded Starship launches and noted the failed effort led to property damage in the Turks and Caicos Islands in the Caribbean. | |
"Unfortunately this happened last time too, so we have some practice at this now," SpaceX flight commentator Dan Huot told reporters at the launch site on Thursday. | |
Footage posted on X purported to show flaming rocket debris falling over the Caribbean Sea. In the Bahamas, people posted that they were seeking shelter in order to take cover from debris. | |
Starship is the biggest, most powerful rocket ever built, and is key to Musk's ambitions for colonising Mars. | |
SpaceX's Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket - collectively referred to as Starship - is intended to be fully reusable, the company says. | |
Nasa hopes to use a modified version of the spaceship as a human lunar lander for its Artemis missions to return to the Moon. | |
In the more distant future, Musk wants Starship to make long-haul trips to Mars and back - about a nine-month trip each way. |