An investigation has been launched into Elon Musk’s explosive Starship test flight that forced dozens of planes to divert on Thursday.
The Space X rocket blew up in space over the Bahamas about eight minutes after take-off in Texas.
Blazing debris was sent miles across the sky over the Turks and Caicos, a British Overseas Territory.
Glowing orange shards from the explosion broke the sound barrier as they plummeted through the atmosphere, sending booms thundering across parts of the islands, according to seismic ground sensor data.
Image: SpaceX’s Starship launched a test flight from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, on Thursday. Pic: AP
“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,” SpaceX owner Mr Musk posted on X after the launch.
The company said in a statement that a fire developed when the second stage of the rocket separated from its booster.
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has said it will oversee an investigation by SpaceX into the dramatic rocket launch.
“There are no reports of public injury, and the FAA is working with SpaceX and appropriate authorities to confirm reports of public property damage on Turks and Caicos,” said the FAA.
Tracking app FlightRadar24 said its most-watched flights on Thursday evening after the “rapid unscheduled disassembly”, as SpaceX called it, were those holding or diverting over the Caribbean, trying to avoid the falling debris.
X This content is provided by X, which may be using cookies and other technologies. To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies. You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable X cookies or to allow those cookies just once. You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options. Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to X cookies. To view this content you can use the button below to allow X cookies for this session only.
Enable Cookies Allow Cookies Once
It appeared to show several planes flying circular holding patterns, including a Spirit jet heading to Puerto Rico and an Air Transat flight bound for the Dominican Republic.
A Boeing 767 transporting Amazon cargo diverted to Nassau in the Bahamas, while a JetBlue flight turned back to where it began in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
1:30
SpaceX launches world’s largest rocket
The FAA often closes airspace for space missions and can create a “debris response area” to protect aircraft if a rocket has a problem outside the original closed zone.
Video on social media showed the debris from the 400ft Starship rocket streaking across the sky, with another clip showing it from the cockpit of a small plane.
X This content is provided by X, which may be using cookies and other technologies. To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies. You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable X cookies or to allow those cookies just once. You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options. Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to X cookies. To view this content you can use the button below to allow X cookies for this session only.
Enable Cookies Allow Cookies Once
Despite the rocket blowing up, Mr Musk appeared to see the bright side, posting on X: “Success is uncertain, but entertainment is guaranteed!”
SpaceX launched the rocket from Boca Chica, south Texas, on Thursday around 4.40pm local time (10.40pm in the UK).
The flight was the seventh test for the newly-upgraded Starship, which was due to make a controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean about an hour after launch.
But the company said it lost contact about eight and half minutes into the flight, with the last data indicating an altitude of 90 miles and a velocity of 13,245mph.
Read more from Sky News:Biden will not enforce TikTok ban – leaving decision to TrumpNASA’s stuck astronaut steps out for a spacewalk
X This content is provided by X, which may be using cookies and other technologies. To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies. You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable X cookies or to allow those cookies just once. You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options. Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to X cookies. To view this content you can use the button below to allow X cookies for this session only.
Enable Cookies Allow Cookies Once
There was some success though – the booster section returned to a launchpad and was caught between two giant mechanical arms, which SpaceX describes as chopsticks.
It’s the second time SpaceX has managed this particular feat and it’s part of its effort to reuse hardware and make space travel cheaper – with getting to Mars the big aim.
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket also successfully launched two moon landers earlier this week, while Jeff Bezos also had a big win early Thursday morning.
The Amazon boss’s company, Blue Origin, put its partially-reusable New Glenn rocket into orbit for the first time.
Source : Sky News
