SpaceX: The biggest explosions to date as uncrewed rocket blows up while stationary

A SpaceX rocket exploded on Wednesday night (June 18) in Texas during a stationary fire test ahead of an upcoming flight.

The space company noted the Starship "experienced a major anomaly” at their Starbase launch site in Texas as it was preparing for its planned 10th Starship flight test.

It also confirmed there were no hazards to residents in the nearby area, and warned people not to try to approach the site.

The ultimate goal for SpaceX is for the rocket vessel to eventually take humans to the moon and Mars.

This rocket explosion isn't the first for SpaceX. Here is a rundown of all the recent ones that have occurred and how they happened.

June 18 2025

Nasa

On Wednesday (June 18), a SpaceX Starship rocket exploded, bursting into flames during a stationary fire test in preparation for its next flight.

The rocket blew up at Massey's Testing Centre in Texas at 11 pm after a pre-flight procedure that tests whether or not the rocket's engines are ignited while the vehicle is bolted to a launch mount.

SpaceX released a statement saying: "A safety clear area around the site was maintained throughout the operation, and all personnel are safe and accounted for."

March 6 2025

During this Texas launch, contact was lost minutes into the 403-foot (123-meter) rocket's test flight as the spacecraft tumbled down and broke apart.

This time, the spacecraft managed to get 90 miles (150 kilometres) in altitude before things went wrong, according to The Associated Press.

Although SpaceX caught the first-stage booster back at the pad with giant mechanical arms, engines on the spacecraft on top started shutting down as it streaked eastward for what was supposed to be a controlled entry over the Indian Ocean, half a world away, but spiralled out of control.

Wreckage from the latest explosion was seen streaming from the skies over Florida, near Cape Canavera.

“Unfortunately, this happened last time too, so we have some practice at this now,” SpaceX flight commentator Dan Huot said from the launch site.

SpaceX later confirmed that the spacecraft experienced “a rapid unscheduled disassembly” during the ascent engine firing and said it alerted safety officials.

Flights were briefly grounded at Orlando International Airport “due to space launch debris in the area,” the airport posted on X at the time.

January 16 2025

Just minutes after launching from the Texas site, the Starship rocket exploded, and consequently, flights travelling over the Gulf of Mexico had to alter course to avoid falling debris.

Meanwhile, people posted videos on social media of the fiery debris also falling from the sky over the Turks and Caicos Islands following what SpaceX described as a "rapid unscheduled disassembly" caused by the rocket's engines that appeared to shut down, as per The Independent.

Contact between mission control and the upgraded spacecraft (carrying mock satellites but no crew) was lost eight minutes after lift off, as per Reuters

But its booster was successfully caught by the space company's “chopsticks” system.

November 18 2023

SpaceX's second uncrewed Starship launch reached space for the first time on the mission; however, it then failed and exploded just minutes later.

It achieved an altitude of around 90 miles in the planned 90-minute test mission, but then mission control lost contact with the spacecraft, potentially from its flight termination system detonating, Axois reported at the time.

"With a test like this, success comes from what we learn, and today's test will help us improve Starship's reliability as SpaceX seeks to make life multiplanetary," the company said in a social media post.

April 2023

SpaceX's next-generation Starship spacecraft exploded minutes after liftoff in an uncrewed test flight from South Texas in April 2023.

This first flight test for Starship - mounted atop the company's new Super Heavy rocket - exploded minutes after liftoff before stage separation.

The flight test was the first for Starship mounted atop the company's new Super Heavy rocket, and the first launch ever for that lower-stage booster, which SpaceX has touted as the most powerful launch vehicle on Earth.

“As if the flight test was not exciting enough, Starship experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly before stage separation,” SpaceX tweeted at the time.

"An anomaly occurred during the ascent and prior to stage separation resulting in a loss of the vehicle. No injuries or public property damage have been reported,” the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement.

It also opened a mishap investigation into the launch, which is the usual protocol when things like this happen.

“The FAA will oversee the mishap investigation of the Starship / Super Heavy test mission. A return to flight of the Starship / Super Heavy vehicle is based on the FAA determining that any system, process, or procedure related to the mishap does not affect public safety. This is standard practice for all mishap investigations.”

Elsewhere, SpaceX Starship explodes during static fire test, and is there a SpaceX rocket launch today? Key details about June launches.

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