Regulators are investigating reports of property damage after a SpaceX Starship vehicle exploded in the sky.
Along with government officials in Turks and Caicos, US regulators are figuring out the extent of the debris which fell after the explosion over the ocean.
The Starship mishap happened during a test mission on Thursday, January 16, according to the Federal Aviation Administration, and in a Friday statement, the FAA and Turks and Caico officials reported that there were no injuries as a result.
The SpaceX vehicle disintegrated during the seventh uncrewed test flight, which was launched out of South Texas.
Because of the falling debris, the FAA created a ‘Debris Response Area’, which delayed travel plans for many, as planes were forced to avoid the area.
On social media, pictures and videos traveled fast, which showed bright orange streaks as pieces fell from the sky.
The Turks and Caicos National Security Secretariat said in a statement that the ‘Turks and Caicos Islands Airport Authority diverted all flights in (Turks and Caicos Islands) airspace as well as grounded all flights until an all clear had been given’.
As the investigation continues, the any flights for the spacecraft and rocket will not be going forward, which isn’t unusual as authorities typically do this while carrying out the ‘mishap investigation’.
While SpaceX will lead the investigation, the FAA will issue a list of corrective actions that the company needs to fix so that the Starship can resume its tests.
Y’all keep saying this is a SpaceX Starship failure, but I saw the Transformers movie. This is clearly the Decepticons. pic.twitter.com/FGx3ReAaOe
— Ryan McGee (@ESPNMcGee) January 17, 2025
The Turks and Caicos government said it met ‘with relevant partners in the United Kingdom including the UK Space Agency, who are supporting the post incident response, including technical expertise on the handling of debris, health and safety risks, protocols and procedures’.
Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist and astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, told CNN that the vehicle may have exploded ‘over Bahamas, (with) debris passing over Turks and Caicos a couple minutes later at ~120 km altitude (~75 miles)’.
Because of the falling debris, the authorities urged anyone who finds it not to handle it, and instead to contact relevant officials.
Dr Benjamin Fernando, a postdoctoral fellow in the department of Earth and planetary sciences at Johns Hopkins, also told CNN that sonic booms caused by the falling debris could have caused minor damage to its surroundings.
He said: “This event was over one of the most populated areas in the Caribbean, with one of the largest things we’ve ever seen re-enter the atmosphere.
“So if (sonic boom property damage) is going to happen, it’ll be an event like this that does cause it.”
Noting that it can ‘cause damage to things like windows, roofing tiles, etc’, he said that it’s not strong enough to destroy your home.
During the flight test on Thursday, SpaceX’s San Huot and Kate Tice, who hosted a webcast of the test flight, noted that the first few minutes was going as planned, until one of its engines flamed out and then five of the six engines became offline.
Then, 10 minutes after they last checked that the flight, the Starship spacecraft was lost.
After the incident, Elon Musk took to Twitter and made it clear that he didn’t consider this more than a ‘bump in the road’.
He commented: “The booster flight was a success, the ship flight was 1/4 successful, hence cup being ~5/8 full.
“New ship forward flaps, higher thrust engines and tile adherence on ascent were tested.
“Improved heat shield performance was the only major thing that wasn’t tested, along with the “Pez” payload dispenser. Probably solved in next month’s launch.
“The 9 meter diameter version of Starship will probably fly ~10,000 times, so this is barely a bump in the road. Doesn’t change the likely date at which Mars becomes self-sufficient.”
UNILAD has reached out to SpaceX for comment.
