SpaceX’s upgraded Starship vehicle experienced an explosion during testing

SpaceX Rolled An upgraded version of its Starship rocket booster arrived in south Texas on Thursday to begin testing, and just a few hours later, something exploded inside it.

Streamers watching SpaceX’s Starbase complex closely Caught explosion In the pre-dawn hours on Friday, around 4:00 a.m. local time. Since then, other creators in the region have done so It was seized Pictures provided by A A closer look When damaged.

Unlike the fireball-like explosions SpaceX has dealt with while developing its rockets in the past, this explosion appears to have blown off an entire side of the bottom of the booster, leaving the rest standing. It also happened very early in the process. The booster was not equipped with rocket engines yet; According to Ars Technica.

The booster was the first major piece of what SpaceX refers to as Starship’s third version, or “V3.” Starship V3 is supposed to be larger, stronger, more reliable and capable of docking other spaceships in Earth orbit, an important part of SpaceX’s plan to reach the Moon and Mars. (The company did the final design for the V2 In October.)

SpaceX and Elon Musk have not yet commented on the explosion. The company did not respond to a request for comment on Friday.

It’s not immediately clear what kind of impact the explosion could have on SpaceX’s next steps. But any significant delay in its testing program could jeopardize SpaceX’s overall plans.

The company was aiming for a very busy 2026 for Starship. This includes demonstrating the ability to transfer fuel to the spacecraft from a “tanker” version of the rocket while in orbit. SpaceX needs to prove this capability to NASA before it can move forward with crewed missions to the moon, which it is reportedly targeting in 2028.

NASA’s acting administrator, Sean Duffy, has criticized SpaceX for not moving quickly enough in its progress on the moon mission, and has He said he might want to give Blue Origin’s chance for Jeff Bezos to get the contract instead.

Blue Origin is accelerating development of its massive rocket. Just last week, the company launched its New Glenn rocket For the second time It delivered the first commercial payload to NASA. The company also acquired its first New Glenn rocket booster. On Thursday, the company revealed a larger design for New Glenn More direct competition with spacecraft.