SpaceX Starship rocket explodes as Musk’s Mars ambitions grow

One of Elon Musk’s SpaceX Starships exploded into a dramatic fireball during routine testing in Texas late on Wednesday, in another setback for the billionaire's dreams of colonizing Mars.

The Starship 36 rocket underwent a "catastrophic failure" during a routine engine test in Texas. A captured video shows the rocket exploding in a fireball that could be seen for miles – luckily, no one was injured.

Close Detailed Video of the SpaceX Starship Explosion from 1.8 miles Starbase, TX
4K version will be available shortly in the other place.

Some animals in the foreground, a safe distance away, but scared for sure!

📽️ - Andrew C (Rocket Future) pic.twitter.com/CoJcFx8tVH

undefined Andrew C - Rocket Future (@TheRocketFuture) June 19, 2025

SpaceX didn’t explain the situation, only saying that the rocket was preparing for its 10th flight test when it “experienced a major anomaly while on a test stand at Starbase”.

On Wednesday, June 18 at approximately 11 p.m. CT, the Starship preparing for the tenth flight test experienced a major anomaly while on a test stand at Starbase. A safety clear area around the site was maintained throughout the operation and all personnel are safe and accounted…— SpaceX (@SpaceX) June 19, 2025

Musk, whose recent public rift with US President Donald Trump put the future of the US spaceflight program into question, seemingly brushed off the incident by posting “Just a scratch” on X.

Just a scratch

undefined Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 19, 2025

This marked a series of unfortunate events for Starship rockets. In May, a SpaceX Starship rocket broke up just minutes after launching from Texas, causing widespread disruptions to air traffic.

Standing 403 feet (123 meters) tall, Starship is considered to be the world’s largest and most powerful launch vehicle ever developed. It can carry 10 times the payload of SpaceX's current Falcon 9 rockets and has been central to Musk’s mission of colonizing Mars.

In a video posted on X in late May, Musk discussed his Mars ambitions, presenting a detailed timeline for Starship's first uncrewed trip to Mars, followed by human missions.

“Progress is measured by the timeline to establishing a self-sustaining civilization on Mars. Each launch is about learning more and more about what’s needed to make life multi-planetary and to improve Starship to the point where it can be taking, ultimately, hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people to Mars,” Musk said.

The Road to Making Life Multiplanetary: an update from @elonmusk on SpaceX's plan to reach Mars pic.twitter.com/d2cnsVKK80

undefined SpaceX (@SpaceX) May 29, 2025

Despite the setback, the incident is unlikely to have a huge influence on Musk’s Mars plans. He is expecting the ship to carry Tesla's Optimus humanoid robots to Mars by the end of 2026, as well as some of the Starlab private space station into orbit once the International Space Station retires after 2030.

Starship departs for Mars at the end of next year, carrying Optimus.

If those landings go well, then human landings may start as soon as 2029, although 2031 is more likely. https://t.co/JRBB95sgNN

undefined Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 15, 2025