SpaceX’s next Starship vehicle was destroyed in an explosion on Wednesday as it was being readied for a static fire test at the company’s Massey facility, near Starbase, Texas. Ship 36 was torn apart exploding in a huge fireball as liquid methane and liquid oxygen were being loaded for a planned test firing of the vehicle’s six Raptor rocket engines. Photo by Satnews.
SpaceX‘s social media post read, “The Starship preparing for the tenth flight test experienced a major anomaly while on a test stand at Starbase. A safety clear area around the site was maintained throughout the operation and all personnel are safe and accounted for. Our Starbase team is actively working to safe the test site and the immediate surrounding area in conjunction with local officials.”
Adding to that statement later in the day, “the potential failure of a pressurized tank known as COPV, or composite overwrapped pressure vessel, containing gaseous nitrogen in Starship’s nosecone area, but the full data review is ongoing.”
Elon Musk added that, “If further investigation confirms this is what happened, it is the first time ever for this design.”
“There is no commonality between the COPVs used on Starship and SpaceX’s Falcon rockets,” SpaceX said.
The major explosion occurred shortly after 11 p.m. CT (0400 UTC) Wednesday, and SpaceX said there were no hazards to residents in nearby communities but urged people to stay away while it worked to safe the test site.