SpaceX's Starship explodes on Texas launch pad in 'catastrophic failure' during routine test
SpaceX's Starship has exploded once again — adding to a growing list of setbacks for the company's rocket.
The upper stage of the rocket, the largest ever built, was undergoing routine testing to prepare for its 10th test flight at SpaceX's South Texas Starbase site on Wednesday night (June 18) when it "suffered a catastrophic failure and exploded," local authorities wrote on Facebook.
The gigantic fireball adds to a string of recent headaches for the rocket's upper stages. The ship exploded mid-flight during two previous test flights in January and March, and fell to pieces during an earlier-than-planned reentry in May.
In a post on X, SpaceX has attributed the latest explosion to "a major anomaly while on a test stand at Starbase," yet the exact cause of the malfunction is unclear.
"A safety clear area around the site was maintained throughout the operation and all personnel are safe and accounted for," SpaceX added in the post. "Our Starbase team is actively working to safe the test site and the immediate surrounding area in conjunction with local officials. There are no hazards to residents in surrounding communities, and we ask that individuals do not attempt to approach the area while safing [sic] operations continue."
Starship is key to SpaceX majority shareholder Elon Musk's ambitions to transport spacecraft, crew members, satellites and cargo into orbit around Earth and to the moon and Mars.
Related: 'Catastrophic' SpaceX Starship explosion tore a hole in the atmosphere last year in 1st-of-its-kind event, Russian scientists reveal
Standing 403 feet (123 meters) tall and propelled by a record-breaking 16.5 million pounds (7.5 million kilograms) of thrust from its 33-engine Super Heavy booster rocket, Starship can carry 10 times the payload of SpaceX's current Falcon 9 rockets.
Designed primarily with affordable and efficient manufacturing in mind, the gargantuan rocket uses inexpensive stainless steel for its construction and methane — which SpaceX claims can be collected on Mars — to power the rocket.
RELATED STORIES
—New NASA robot with X-ray vision will watch Earth 'breathing' from the moon
—NASA and Japan launch world's 1st wooden satellite into orbit. Here's why it could help solve a huge problem for our planet.
—James Webb Space Telescope quiz: How well do you know the world's most powerful telescope?
These early failures are unlikely to deter SpaceX from further developing the rocket. Musk announced in March that he expects the ship to carry Tesla's Optimus humanoid robots to Mars by the end of 2026, and the rocket is also set to carry some of the Starlab private space station into orbit once the International Space Station retires after 2030.
SpaceX has also won around $4 billion in NASA contracts to develop the Human Landing System (HLS). This is a lunar lander variant of the spacecraft, and has been selected by NASA to carry American astronauts to the moon aboard the 2027 Artemis III mission — the first time humans will have walked on the moon in more than 50 years.
The impact of yesterday's explosion on SpaceX's launch date for Starship's 10th flight is unclear. Currently, the company is investigating what happened to cause Flight 9's failed reentry alongside the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
28 minutes ago
- Yahoo
KIOXIA LC9 Series 245.76 TB Enterprise SSD with Innovative 32-die Stack Memory Named ‘Best of Show' at FMS: the Future of Memory and Storage 2025
SAN JOSE, Calif., August 06, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--KIOXIA America, Inc. today announced that its KIOXIA LC9 Series 245.76 terabyte (TB)1 enterprise SSD, utilizing a 32-die stack KIOXIA BiCS FLASH™ generation 8 QLC 3D flash memory, has received the FMS 'Best of Show' award in the 'SSD Technology' category. These awards recognize the cutting-edge products, services, and customer implementations that are pushing the boundaries of memory and storage technology. The industry's first2 245.76 TB1 NVMe™ SSD in a 2.5-inch and Enterprise and Datacenter Standard Form Factor (EDSFF) E3.L form factor, KIOXIA LC9 Series drives are well-suited to generative AI and enterprise applications. KIOXIA LC9 Series SSDs are now sampling to select customers. "When customers evaluate SSDs, important consideration is given to storage that scales to high capacities while delivering high performance and low power consumption," said Jay Kramer, Chair of the Awards Program and President of Network Storage Advisors Inc. "We are proud to recognize KIOXIA for its BiCS FLASH™ 3D flash memory and KIOXIA LC9 Series SSD. This solution is enabled by their CBA (CMOS directly Bonded to Array) technology and the innovation of a 32-die stacked architecture in a package - delivering the capacity, power and density required for transformational SSDs. Creating the highest capacity2 PCIe® 5.0 enterprise SSD is a remarkable achievement and a clear reflection of Kioxia's leadership position." Featuring a 32-die stack of 2 terabit (Tb)3 BiCS FLASH™ QLC 3D flash memory with innovative CBA technology, KIOXIA LC9 Series SSDs deliver the speed, scale, and density required to support the next wave of AI-centric workloads. This combination of advanced memory architecture and CBA technology enables 8 TB3 in a small 154 BGA package – also an industry first2. This milestone was made possible with advancements in Kioxia's high-precision wafer processing, material design, and wire bonding technologies. "Achieving multiple industry firsts with the KIOXIA LC9 Series reflects the depth of innovation across our engineering, manufacturing, and design teams," said Scott Nelson, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for KIOXIA America, Inc. "As AI workloads grow more demanding, we're committed to delivering the flash memory technologies that will power the data infrastructure of tomorrow and accelerate progress across industries." For more information, please visit and follow the company on X, formerly known as Twitter and LinkedIn®. About KIOXIA America, Inc. KIOXIA America, Inc. is the U.S.-based subsidiary of KIOXIA Corporation, a leading worldwide supplier of flash memory and solid-state drives (SSDs). From the invention of flash memory to today's breakthrough BiCS FLASH™ 3D technology, KIOXIA continues to pioneer innovative memory, SSD and software solutions that enrich people's lives and expand society's horizons. The company's innovative 3D flash memory technology, BiCS FLASH, is shaping the future of storage in high-density applications, including advanced smartphones, PCs, automotive systems, data centers and generative AI systems. For more information, please visit © 2025 KIOXIA America, Inc. All rights reserved. Information in this press release, including product pricing and specifications, content of services, and contact information is current and believed to be accurate on the date of the announcement, but is subject to change without prior notice. Technical and application information contained here is subject to the most recent applicable KIOXIA product specifications. Notes: 1: Definition of SSD capacity: Kioxia Corporation defines a kilobyte (KB) as 1,000 bytes, a megabyte (MB) as 1,000,000 bytes, a gigabyte (GB) as 1,000,000,000 bytes, a terabyte (TB) as 1,000,000,000,000 bytes, and a kibibyte (KiB) is 1,024 bytes. A computer operating system, however, reports storage capacity using powers of 2 for the definition of 1GB = 2^30 bytes = 1,073,741,824 bytes and 1TB = 2^40 bytes = 1,099,511,627,776 bytes and therefore shows less storage capacity. Available storage capacity (including examples of various media files) will vary based on file size, formatting, settings, software and operating system, and/or pre-installed software applications, or media content. Actual formatted capacity may vary.2: As of August 6, 2025, based on Kioxia survey.3: The flash memory capacity is calculated as 1 terabit (1 Tb) = 1,099,511,627,776 (2^40) bits, and 1 terabyte (1 TB) = 1,099,511,627,776 (2^40) bytes. 2.5-inch indicates the form factor of the SSD and not its physical size. NVMe is a registered or unregistered trademark of NVM Express, Inc. in the United States and other countries. PCIe is a registered trademark of PCI-SIG. LinkedIn is a trademark of LinkedIn Corporation and its affiliates in the United States and/or other countries. Other company names, product names and service names may be trademarks of third-party companies. View source version on Contacts Company Contact: Mia CoolKioxia America, (408) Media Contact: Dena JacobsonLages & AssociatesTel: (949) 453-8080dena@ Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
28 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Lysoway Therapeutics Awarded Grant from The Michael J. Fox Foundation to Advance TRPML1 Agonist to Treat Parkinson's Disease
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., August 06, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Lysoway Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing small molecule modulators of lysosomal ion channels, today announced that it has received a research grant from The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research (MJFF). Support comes from MJFF's Parkinson's Disease Therapeutics Pipeline Program, which focuses on candidates with strong potential to slow or halt disease progression or alleviate burdensome symptoms for those living with Parkinson's disease. Lysoway Therapeutics funding of $2.93 million will support the preclinical and translational development of Lysoway's novel, highly brain-penetrant small molecule TRPML1 agonist. The study aims to investigate whether activating TRPML1 by a novel, small molecule modulator, will enhance the lysosomal membrane calcium ion channel to restore lysosomal function and help with clearance of alpha-synuclein, the protein that is linked to the disease. "We are honored to receive this generous grant from The Michael J. Fox Foundation," said Valerie Cullen, PhD, Principal Investigator and SVP of Research and Translation at Lysoway. "TRPML1 is a high value target due to its pivotal role in sensing and responding to cellular stress. By activating this ion channel, we can engage multiple beneficial pathways that restore autophagy/lysosomal homeostasis and bolster cellular resilience. Our lead development candidate is both orally bioavailable and highly brain-penetrant, offering strong potential to modify disease progression in Parkinson's Disease." Yongchang Qiu, PhD, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Lysoway Therapeutics, added "This funding underscores growing confidence in TRPML1 as a compelling target for Parkinson's disease. It will allow us to accelerate development of our lead TRPML1 agonist and to establish key biomarkers for target engagement, with the goal of initiating first-in-human clinical trials early next year." About Lysoway Therapeutics, in Cambridge, MA, Lysoway Therapeutics is a leader in developing therapeutically viable lysosomal ion channel modulators. The company is advancing a pipeline of small molecule activators targeting these channels to treat neurodegenerative diseases. Learn more at View source version on Contacts Media contact: Info@
Yahoo
28 minutes ago
- Yahoo
OpenAI eyes $500 billion valuation in potential employee share sale, source says
(Reuters) -ChatGPT maker OpenAI is in early talks for a potential secondary stock sale that would allow current and former employees to sell shares, valuing the company at around $500 billion, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday. Bloomberg was first to report the news. The Microsoft-backed company aims to raise billions through the sale, with existing investors, including Thrive Capital, expressing interest in buying some of the employee shares, the source said. Thrive Capital declined to comment on a Reuters request. Separately, OpenAI is still in the process of raising $40 billion in a new funding round led by SoftBank Group at a $300 billion valuation to advance AI research, expand computational infrastructure and enhance its tools.
