On the evening of Thursday, March 6, a SpaceX Starship test ended when the upper stage rocket failed and exploded, raining down debris over parts of the Caribbean. This follows a similar explosion during a January test flight, but this time it caused a temporary ground stop at airports across Florida, including at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and Miami International Airport.
“SpaceX is known for their ‘fail fast, learn faster’ mantra,” said Virginia Tech aerospace engineer Ella Atkins. “Certainly, this philosophy has played out in the progressive development of Starship with this last launch demonstrating how Super Heavy has now progressed from early failures to a repeatable capability to execute precision landing at the launch site.”
In both this flight and in January, the SpaceX Super Heavy boosters lifted off and experienced a successful first stage launch and separation prior to the explosion. But this is also not the first time test flights have resulted in debris falling from the sky.
“SpaceX launches have rained down debris in a variety of locations, especially during their ‘fail fast’ cycles,” said Atkins. “Debris safety risk will continue to be an issue warranting further investigation and improved oversight and management.”
About Atkins
Ella Atkins is head of the Kevin T. Crofton Department of Aerospace and Ocean Engineering at Virginia Tech and her research centers on the investigation of airspace and aircraft autonomy and safety. She is also a licensed private pilot.
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