SpaceX launched an upgraded Starship rocket booster in South Texas on Thursday for early testing; however, a few hours later, an explosion happened inside the vehicle.
Livestreaming monitoring the Starbase site captured the explosion around 4:00 a.m. Friday.
Notably, the blast was different from SpaceX’s previous fireball-like failures. It occurred early in development, and the booster reportedly didn’t yet have engines installed.
SpaceX stated the incident occurred during “gas system pressure testing” and confirmed no injuries, as the area is cleared.
The booster is the first significant component of Starship Version 3 (V3), which is likely to be larger, and capable of docking with other Starships in orbit.
It is important to note that the Elon-Musk owned company recently completed its final V2 test flight in October.
However, the impact of the explosion on the forthcoming test remains unclear, but delays could affect SpaceX’s 2026 schedule.
NASA’s acting administrator Sean Duffy has expressed frustration with SpaceX’s slow progress.
Meanwhile, Blue Origin has successfully completed its New Glenn rocket that recently completed its second launch and first booster landing.
