A SpaceX Starship rocket exploded at the Starbase facility in Texas during routine testing this week in preparation for a launch flight, and the footage is actually insane. Get a load of how massive the flames were:
WOW! SpaceX’s Starship 36 just exploded in a massive fireball prior to launch. pic.twitter.com/5X5mkoXJpx
— Brian Krassenstein (@krassenstein) June 19, 2025
Well, I guess it’s a pretty apt visual with everything else going on in the world right now. What’s one more explosion for the daily news, eh?
The rocket “experienced a major anomaly while on a test stand at Starbase”, 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.”
Local authorities said that Starship “suffered a catastrophic failure and exploded,” with no injuries reported. It was an unmanned rocket, after all, but with an explosion that big, they must’ve been worried for a minute there.
Still, it’s not great news for Elon Musk and SpaceX. This is the 4th Starship of theirs to explode this year. Obviously this sort of trial and error is necessary to make progress with this level of technology, and especially with the ultimate goal of sending humans to space/Mars, but it looks like we’re still a long way from getting there. Maybe Elon Musk could bin the politics and devote all his time and energy to sorting this out instead?
Here’s the explosion in slow motion:
Starship 36 exploding during testing in 4K slow motion.
6/18/25 pic.twitter.com/gikzK4Xj07
— Starship Gazer (@StarshipGazer) June 19, 2025
Incredible.
To watch Elon Musk quit a livestream gaming session after being bullied by gamers in the chat, click HERE. Not very nice, really.
