A Second SpaceX Starship Explodes, Sending Fiery Debris Across the Night Skies Thursday, as Musk Readies a Rocket To Retrieve Astronauts Stranded in Space

SpaceX’s massive Starship spacecraft exploded shortly after liftoff on Thursday night, marking the second failure in a row of Elon Musk’s rocket program.The fiery debris could be seen streaking across the dark skies over the Caribbean and South Florida. The rocket broke apart after its engines were cut off after malfunctioning, causing the craft to spin uncontrollably. The incident led to flights being grounded temporarily at several Florida airports, including at Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and Orlando, due to the risk of falling “space vehicle debris,” according to CBS News.A similar Starship spacecraft is currently being prepped by Space X to launch later this month for a mission to bring NASA Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams back from the International Space Station. Both have been aboard the modular craft for nearly nine months after issues with their Boeing Starliner rocket had developed mid-mission. The two are scheduled to return aboard a Space X Starship capsule.Before Thursday’s incident, President Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that he had spoken to Mr. Musk and that they were preparing to launch the mission in “two weeks.”“Elon is right now preparing a ship to go up and get them,” he said while sitting at the Resolute Desk after signing the latest round of executive orders.Space X said in a statement it was launching an inquiry into why Starship had failed for the second time.“During Starship’s ascent burn, the vehicle experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly, and contact was lost. Our team immediately began coordination with safety officials to implement pre-planned contingency responses,” the statement posted to X said. “We will review the data from today’s flight test to better understand the root cause. As always, success comes from what we learn, and today’s flight will offer additional lessons to improve Starship’s reliability.” The Federal Aviation Administration said it has ordered Space X to conduct a “mishap investigation” into the Starship explosion.“A mishap investigation is designed to enhance public safety, determine the root cause of the event, and identify corrective actions to avoid it from happening again,” according to a statement. “The FAA will be involved in every step of the SpaceX-led mishap investigation process and must approve SpaceX’s final report, including any corrective actions.”“A return to flight is based on the FAA determining that any system, process, or procedure related to the mishap does not affect public safety.”After propelling the Starship to the upper stage out of Earth’s lower atmosphere, the 230-foot-tall first stage booster returned to the Space X launch site along the Texas Gulf Coast and successfully landed with the aid of two massive mechanical arms called “chopsticks” mounted on the side of the launch tower.

A Second SpaceX Starship Explodes, Sending Fiery Debris Across the Night Skies Thursday, as Musk Readies a Rocket To Retrieve Astronauts Stranded in Space

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