Watch: Starship's Super Heavy rocket explodes mid-air minutes after launch

SpaceX's Super Heavy booster exploded mid-air while descending after a Starship test launch from Texas.

In Short

• The upgraded vehicle lifted off cleanly from SpaceX's Starbase site in Texas
• Stage separation was completed using hot-staging, with Starship igniting before detachment
• The booster was meant to splash down after a controlled descent

SpaceX suffered another dramatic loss during an upgraded Starship test flight on Saturday after the massive Super Heavy booster exploded mid-air while returning to Earth minutes after launch from Texas.

The version 3 launch began successfully from SpaceX’s Starbase facility, with the towering Starship-Super Heavy rocket lifting off in a fiery ascent powered by dozens of Raptor engines. The mission marked another test of the company’s next-generation launch system designed for Moon and Mars missions.

One of the key milestones of the flight, stage separation, was completed successfully. During the manoeuvre, the upper-stage Starship spacecraft separated from the Super Heavy booster using the hot-staging technique, where Starship’s engines ignite before the booster fully detaches.

WATCH SUPER HEAVY ROCKET EXPLODES ON RETURN

After separation, the Super Heavy booster began its planned descent back toward the Gulf of Mexico. SpaceX had intended for the booster to carry out a controlled return flight before splashing down safely in the ocean.

However, as the booster descended through the atmosphere, the mission took a dramatic turn. Visuals from the live broadcast showed the massive rocket erupting in a fiery explosion high above the Gulf before it could reach the water.

Despite the loss of the booster, the upper-stage Starship continued flying in space following separation, allowing SpaceX to gather additional data from the mission.

The Super Heavy booster is the most powerful rocket stage ever built and plays a central role in SpaceX’s plans to create a fully reusable launch system. The company has repeatedly said that failures during test flights are expected as engineers rapidly refine the vehicle through real-world missions.

Saturday’s explosion shows the immense technical challenges involved in landing and recovering such a massive booster. Even so, the successful launch and stage separation demonstrated continued progress in the development of the Starship programme, which is expected to support future NASA lunar missions and eventual human journeys to Mars.

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