According to local authorities, SpaceX’s Starship reportedly “suffered a catastrophic failure and exploded” during a routine test at the Starbase facility. This is the third Starship launch that has resulted in an explosion this year.

SpaceX Starship 36 Explodes

Starship is crucial for SpaceX and NASA’s plans to resume crewed missions to the Moon. The rocket exploded on Wednesday during a routine test preparing to launch a flight, as the live stream footage indicates.

The rocket “experienced a major anomaly while on a test stand at Starbase” at 11 PM local time, SpaceX said on social media, noting “a safety clear area around the site was maintained throughout the operation and all personnel are safe and accounted for.”

According to CNBC, no injuries were reported at the time of the incident, and an investigation is underway. Live stream footage of the rocket showed it bursting into flame and shooting a giant fireball toward the sky.

Though this rocket model has taken off successfully in previous instances, its large size—394 feet tall when factoring in the Super Heavy booster—has left experts wondering whether the ship is reliable enough to handle the requirements for its missions, such as orbital refueling in spaceflight.

The spacecraft is critical for NASA’s third and fourth Artemis missions, which intend to return humans to the Moon. These missions are expected to take place in 2027-2028.

And, once the International Space Station retires after 2030, the rocket will play a role in launching the Starlab private space station. This mission is meant to begin the transition to commercial space-orbiting labs.

SpaceX’s Starship is also central to humanity’s plans to colonize Mars. By the end of 2026, the rocket is expected to transport Optimus robots to Mars to begin this process.

Another Starship launch is expected to take place by the end of this month.