US grounds SpaceX's Starship after test flight explosion

 

The US has grounded SpaceX's giant Starship rocket while an investigation is carried out into why it exploded during its latest test flight.

The rocket's upper stage dramatically broke up and disintegrated over the Caribbean after launching from Texas on Thursday, forcing airline flights to alter course to avoid falling debris.

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it was working with SpaceX and other authorities to confirm reports of damage to public property on the Turks and Caicos Islands. There were no reports of injuries.

Elon Musk's company has been told to carry out a "mishap" investigation by the aviation regulator, which will review the findings before deciding if Starship can return to flight.

The Super Heavy booster managed to return to its launchpad roughly seven minutes after lift-off as planned, prompting an eruption of applause from ground control teams.

SpaceX later confirmed the upper stage had undergone "rapid unscheduled disassembly".

In a post on his social media platform X, Musk said "preliminary indications" were that the problem was linked to an "oxygen/fuel leak in the cavity above the ship engine firewall".

The billionaire added that "nothing so far suggests pushing next launch past next month".

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2yyxrz9kvo