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On January 16, 2025, Elon Musk’s SpaceX starship prototype was launched into the sky but unfortunately, it wasn’t successful. The starship was carrying test satellites and eight minutes after its launch, the control room lost connection with it.
Video circulating online showed orange lights streaking across the sky in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, leaving smoky trails. SpaceX later confirmed the loss of their ship following a communication failure, which indicated an issue with the upper stage of the spacecraft. On January 17, 2025, the Tesla CEO shared one of the viral videos with the caption:
“Success is uncertain, but entertainment is guaranteed!”
In the video, one can hear onlookers amazed by the broken starship’s orange display. Netizens shared similar other videos of the starship debris but did not stop there as they had different reactions. One X user reshared Elon Musk’s post with the caption:
“When Elon Musk crashes a spaceship, he does it Captain Kirk style. Couldn’t help but think of this scene from Star Trek III watching this.”
Many social media users criticised Elon Musk saying it was not some show-off.
“Is the FAA going to have a big issues with this?” a person asked on X.
“This isn’t the flex you think it is,” a social media user pointed out.
“Might be a dumb question, but does that have any potential impact on aircraft in the area? It is it so high it would burn up before hitting the flight levels?” a netizen inquired.
Netizens called it an expensive firework display while others applauded Elon Musk's team’s efforts.
“The most expensive fireworks ever,” an online user remarked.
“Here is what a lot of people don’t understand. This failure just made future travel safer. Elon and crew are the masters of learning from every glitch. I applaud the effort and eagerly await the next launch,” another X user noted.
Elon Musk shared a preliminary report about the incident on X
As per reports, SpaceX's newly upgraded Starship prototype, featuring a taller and more advanced upper stage, failed shortly after launching from Texas. The spacecraft lost communication eight minutes into its flight, causing it to break apart and forcing commercial flights over the Gulf of Mexico to reroute for safety.
Debris was seen over Haiti, disrupting air traffic and grounding some flights in Miami. The FAA was reportedly reviewing the incident. Elon Musk also shared an X post on January 17, 2025, detailing a preliminary report about what caused the failure. He wrote:
“Preliminary indication is that we had an oxygen/fuel leak in the cavity above the ship engine firewall that was large enough to build pressure in excess of the vent capacity. Apart from obviously double-checking for leaks, we will add fire suppression to that volume and probably increase vent area. Nothing so far suggests pushing next launch past next month.”
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According to a BBC report, the starship’s upper stage successfully separated from its super-heavy booster about four minutes into the flight. The booster returned to the launch pad as planned and was greeted by cheers from ground control. The FAA acknowledged that an issue occurred during the mission, briefly rerouting aircraft around the debris zone. Normal air traffic reportedly resumed shortly after.
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