Another SpaceX Starship prototype disintegrated over the Indian Ocean on Tuesday, marking another turbulent test flight for the colossal rocket at the heart of Elon Musk’s vision to colonize Mars.
The massive launch vehicle—the most powerful ever built—took off at 6:36 p.m. local time from SpaceX’s facility near a small southern Texas village, which recently voted to become a city named Starbase.
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Signs of trouble first emerged when the first-stage Super Heavy booster exploded instead of completing its planned splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico.
Shortly afterward, the live broadcast showed the upper-stage spacecraft failing to open its doors to release a payload of Starlink satellite simulators.
Although the ship flew farther than during its previous two test missions, it began leaking and spinning out of control as it traveled through space on a suborbital trajectory. It ultimately lost control during reentry and broke apart in the atmosphere.
“Starship experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly,” SpaceX posted on X—using a now-familiar euphemism for failure—and added that lessons would be learned from the experience.
Musk, for his part, pledged to speed up the testing process: “Launch cadence for the next three flights will be faster—approximately one every three to four weeks,” he said. However, he did not confirm whether he still planned to deliver the Mars-focused livestream SpaceX had previously been promoting.
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Federal regulators granted a launch license for this mission just four days prior, concluding an investigation into previous mishaps that had grounded the program for nearly two months.
Earlier test flights in January and March ended in explosions shortly after liftoff, scattering debris over the Caribbean and disrupting numerous commercial flights in the area. In response, the Federal Aviation Administration expanded the debris hazard zones along the rocket’s flight path for Tuesday’s attempt.
Before the launch, dozens of space enthusiasts gathered at Isla Blanca Park on South Padre Island, hoping to witness a historic moment. Several small tourist boats were also seen on the nearby lagoon. The live stream showed Musk at Starbase’s ground control, wearing an “Occupy Mars” T-shirt.
Among the spectators was 50-year-old Australian Piers Dawson, who said he was “obsessed” with the rocket and had planned his family vacation around the launch—his first trip to the U.S., accompanied by his wife and teenage son, whom he took out of school to attend.
Another fan, 33-year-old tech entrepreneur Joshua Wingate from Austin, reflected positively despite the outcome: “I know in science there’s never a failure. You learn from every single test, so that was still super exciting to see.”