A dramatic explosion rocked Elon Musk’s SpaceX testing site in Massey, Texas, on June 18 (US time), destroying a Starship prototype and derailing plans for the rocket system’s tenth test flight. The incident occurred just before Ship 36 was scheduled for a critical static fire test—a procedure in which the rocket’s engines are ignited while the vehicle remains anchored to the ground, serving as a final systems check before launch. It sent debris flying across the facility and forced an indefinite suspension of launch preparations. The company had been targeting June 29 for its next major Starship flight, which would mark the tenth test of the world’s largest and most powerful rocket system.
Big explosion rocks Elon Musk’s SpaceX facility during Starship test: Watch
