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Yahoo
6 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Video Shows Large Crane Collapsing at Safety-Plagued SpaceX Rocket Facility
Elon Musk's Texas Starbase is still reeling from its latest Starship explosion. Now, it has a crane collapse to deal with too. As eagle-eyed Starbase watchers flagged in a livestream from earlier this week, one of the cranes at the site of the explosion — which was, according to CBS News 4, powerful enough to be picked up by weather radar — collapsed in a heap in the middle of the day. "This has always been one of my biggest fears in every industry I've worked in," tweeted Zack Golden, the SpaceX fan who noticed the collapse on a livestream from LabPadre, a fancam site that records the Boca Chica, Texas facility. "I hope everything is alright." Though there's some speculation online suggesting that the crane had been lifting the carcass of the exploded Starship when it collapsed, it's not clear that's been established for certain. We've reached out to SpaceX and LabPadre to ask if there's any additional information or video to be shared about what happened there — and, more importantly, whether anyone was hurt in the process. Last week's Starship explosion didn't just release a massive fireball and impact local weather radar in South Texas, but also, as the Associated Press reports, resulted in large pieces of debris landing in the Mexican border state of Tamaulipas. In its aftermath, the AP notes, Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum is investigating what international laws the Musk-owned company might have broken when the wreckage breached international borders. "There is indeed contamination," Sheinbaum claimed during a daily news briefing that also saw her threatening to file "the necessary lawsuits" once her country's probe is complete. The facility that lives on a beach near the newly-incorporated company town of Starbase has long been plagued by safety issues ranging from debris showers from prior Starship failures and is the leading site of hundreds of recorded injuries at the company, per a Reuters investigation from 2023. While there have been no reported injuries in this most recent Starship explosion, we won't be sure that the cleanup effort has continued that record unless SpaceX gets back to us — and we'll be sure to update if that occurs. More on Starbase: Latest Starship Explosion Drastically Decreases SpaceX's Chances of Reaching Mars Without Having to Wait Years Solve the daily Crossword
TechCrunch
27-06-2025
- Science
- TechCrunch
SpaceX's Starbase city officials silent on crane collapse
A crane collapsed at SpaceX's South Texas rocket facility this week, and the company's newly-formed city won't say if anyone was hurt. On June 23, a crane being used to clean up debris from the most recent SpaceX rocket explosion collapsed at the company's launch complex. Footage of the accident was captured by Lab Padre, one of the content creators who film and photograph the site on a regular basis. But it was filmed from far away, making it impossible to tell whether anyone was harmed or in danger. SpaceX has not publicly acknowledged the collapse, and did not respond to TechCrunch's request for comment. That's not surprising; While the company posts details about spaceflight mishaps, like when its Starship rockets blow up, it is otherwise tight-lipped. But SpaceX's facility is now part of a newly-incorporated city called Starbase, Texas, and this accident happened within its borders. And after one of the Starship rockets blew up on a test stand last week, Starbase officials made a short post on X about it. There has been no post about the crane collapse, though, and the city has ignored direct appeals for information. TechCrunch has contacted Starbase's main media email address, its mayor, its two commissioners, its city administrator, and its clerk this week. None have responded to multiple requests for information about the accident. The collapse is one of the first tests of whether Starbase city has an appetite (and will) for transparency while being run by a SpaceX executive, and acting as a home for the company and more than 200 of its employees. Starbase is also financially beholden to Elon Musk's spaceflight company: Just this week, the city finalized a $1.5 million loan from SpaceX to fund the city's operations through September 2025. The idea of making a city called Starbase was first floated by Musk in 2021. But it wasn't until May of this year that it was formally became a city. Its citizens — mostly SpaceX employees — voted overwhelmingly to incorporate. SpaceX's vice president of 'Texas Test and Launch,' Bobby Peden, became mayor. The company's senior director of environmental, health, and safety Jordan Buss became a commissioner. The other commissioner, Jenna Petrzelka, worked at SpaceX for years. Techcrunch event Save $200+ on your TechCrunch All Stage pass Build smarter. Scale faster. Connect deeper. Join visionaries from Precursor Ventures, NEA, Index Ventures, Underscore VC, and beyond for a day packed with strategies, workshops, and meaningful connections. Save $200+ on your TechCrunch All Stage pass Build smarter. Scale faster. Connect deeper. Join visionaries from Precursor Ventures, NEA, Index Ventures, Underscore VC, and beyond for a day packed with strategies, workshops, and meaningful connections. Boston, MA | REGISTER NOW Those officials have been busy shaping the new city in the last few weeks. The city sent out a notice in late May to residents in a newly-proposed 'Mixed Use District' that they may 'lose the right to continue using' their property. The city also started erecting gates at SpaceX's request that limit access to the city, citing safety concerns. Buss said in a meeting that Starbase would grant access to outsiders 'if there's a need to be in the city' and provide 'access codes' to ambulances, firefighters, and law enforcement, according to Valley Central. It's not clear if those kinds of emergency services were needed Tuesday when the crane collapsed. The Cameron County Sheriff's department told TechCrunch that it did not receive any calls from Starbase around the time of the accident. Local fire officials from the nearby city of Brownsville and from Cameron County did not respond to requests for comment. All we know about the collapse — aside from seeing it happen — is that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has opened an investigation, according to CNBC. SpaceX has a troubled history of worker safety. But OSHA investigations take time, and the agency has been diminished by cuts from Musk's DOGE project. Musk's companies also do not have very constructive relationships with OSHA. In 2019, Tesla refused to let OSHA inspectors enter its factory in Nevada, even when those inspectors returned with a sheriff's deputy and a warrant signed by the judge.
UAE Moments
20-06-2025
- Science
- UAE Moments
SpaceX Starship Ship 36 Explodes Before Flight Test
SpaceX was set to perform a static fire test of Ship 36 before its planned 10th flight test for its Starship; however, a massive explosion at the Massey's Testing Center site disrupted SpaceX's plans on Wednesday, June 18. 'A safety clear area around the site was maintained throughout the operation and all personnel are safe and accounted for,' SpaceX said in a statement. According to SpaceX, there were no hazards to residents in the area, which is located in Starbase, Texas. The fire continued for two hours after the initial explosion, according to live camera feeds from NASA Spaceflight and LabPadre. The explosion occurred before the start of the static fire and thirty minutes after the propellant load sequence started. The cause of the explosion and the extent of the possible damage are unknown; however, it follows explosions during the seventh, eighth, and ninth Starship flight tests earlier this year. The Brownsville Fire Department crews responded to the incident, according to KRGV news. Fox News reported that the authorities ensured that there were no injuries during the incident. If the explosion had not occurred, the flight test would have continued using SpaceX's 'V2' Starship design. SpaceX is also preparing a V3 design, which is targeting a rate of launching once a week in about 12 months. This article was previously published on omanmoments. To see the original article, click here
Wall Street Journal
19-06-2025
- Science
- Wall Street Journal
Watch: SpaceX Starship Explodes After ‘Major Anomaly'
SpaceX's latest Starship exploded into a giant fireball during an engine test on June 18 at the company's Texas facility. The company blamed a "major anomaly" and said all personnel were safe. Photo: LabPadre via Storyful
CBS News
19-06-2025
- Science
- CBS News
SpaceX Starship upper stage explodes during ramp-up to expected engine test firing
A SpaceX Starship upper stage exploded in a spectacular conflagration during ramp-up to an expected engine test firing at the company's Starbase manufacturing facility on the Texas Gulf Coast late Wednesday, destroying the rocket in what appears to be a major setback for the Super Heavy-Starship vehicle Elon Musk says is critical to the company's future. Video from LabPadre, a company that monitors SpaceX activities at Starbase, showed the Starship suddenly exploded in a huge fireball just after 11 p.m. CDT, 10 to 15 minutes before the anticipated engine test firing, sending flaming debris shooting away into the overnight sky from a churning fireball that engulfed the test stand. A SpaceX Starship upper stage blew up late on June 18, 2025 at the SpaceX Starbase manufacturing facility on the Texas Gulf Coast. LabPadre via Storyful The video showed what appeared to be two major explosions, the first detonation near the nose of the rocket followed a moment later by a second eruption of flame and debris on the left side of the spacecraft. The test stand disappeared in a billowing fireball that rose into the overnight sky like a bomb blast. The Starship was being filled with a full load of liquid oxygen and a partial load of high-energy methane fuel when the detonations occurred. Ninety minutes after the initial blast, fires appeared to still be burning out of control at what is known as the Massey test site, where cryogenic testing and hotfire tests are typically conducted. "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," SpaceX said in a statement on the social media platform X. "A safety clear area around the site was maintained throughout the operation and all personnel are safe and accounted for. 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." The explosion's impact on the test site infrastructure was not immediately known. SpaceX has a history of making relatively quick recoveries from failures or setbacks but this mishap, along with destroying a nearly-ready-to-launch Starship, may have caused significant damage to Starbase infrastructure. In any case, the next test flight will be indefinitely delayed. Known as Ship 36, SpaceX was expected to launch the Starship atop a huge Super Heavy booster around the end of the month on the integrated rocket's tenth unpiloted test fight. Hotfire tests are a normal precursor to actual flights, allowing engineers to verify upgrades and overall performance prior to committing it to launch. SpaceX has launched nine Super Heavy-Starship test flights since April 2023. The first three flights ended with explosions or breakups that destroyed both stages. The fourth, fifth and sixth test flights were partially successful, but two of the three most recent flights ended with Starship explosions before the spacecraft could reach its planned sub-orbital trajectory. The third, most recent flight on May 27 reached its planned trajectory but spun out of control and broke up during atmospheric entry. NASA is counting on the giant rocket to launch a Starship variant carrying astronauts to a landing near the moon's south pole in the next two or three years. To get the Human Landing System -- HLS -- Starship variant to the moon, SpaceX will need to launch 10 to 20 Super Heavy-Starships to refuel the lander in low-Earth orbit before it can head for the moon to await the arrival of the astronauts aboard a Lockheed Martin-built Orion crew capsule. Given the complexity of the architecture, the need to launch multiple Super Heavy-Starships, perfect the autonomous transfer of super cold propellants and new technology to keep the cryogenic liquid methane and oxygen from warming up and boiling away in space, failures like Wednesday's will make the schedule all the tougher to meet.
