Flights near Turks and Caicos were diverted in the moments after Starship explosion
SpaceX
- SpaceX's Starship rocket exploded during a test Thursday.
- The Federal Aviation Administration issued a warning after the explosion, calling the area "dangerous."
- After the explosion, some flights near Turks and Caicos were diverted, per Flightradar24.
Flights near the Turks and Caicos islands were spotted diverting to avoid debris after SpaceX's Starship exploded on Thursday.
SpaceX was conducting its seventh test flight of its unmanned Starship mega-rocket from its Starbase launch site near Brownsville, Texas. The launch occurred around 5:30 p.m. ET.
The Starship's Super Heavy Booster, which boosts the Starship spacecraft, successfully touched down back to the launchpad, marking another milestone in SpaceX's goal to create reusable boosters.
However, the upper stage of the system, Starship, was lost in what the company called a "rapid unscheduled disassembly."
Videos on social media appeared to show debris light up the sky near Turks and Caicos as it fell back to Earth.
Dean Olson, who captured footage of the Starship debris while in the area, told Business Insider that he heard the sound of constant "thunder" for about a minute after witnessing the explosion.
Just saw the most insane #spacedebris #meteorshower right now in Turks and Caicos @elonmusk what is it?? pic.twitter.com/a7f4MbEB8Q
— Dean Olson (@deankolson87) January 16, 2025
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said in an X post on Thursday night that the rocket "had an oxygen/fuel leak in the cavity above the ship engine firewall."
Musk wrote that the leak "was large enough to build pressure in excess of the vent capacity."
"Apart from obviously double-checking for leaks, we will add fire suppression to that volume and probably increase vent area. Nothing so far suggests pushing next launch past next month," he added.
The Federal Aviation Administration issued a warning after the explosion, calling the area "dangerous" and warning of "falling debris of rocket Starship."
"The FAA briefly slowed and diverted aircraft around the area where space vehicle debris was falling," an FAA spokesperson said. "Normal operations have resumed."
Flight data from Flightradar24 showed several aircraft near the Turks and Caicos Islands diverting from destination routes.
One flight was an Airbus A320-232, operated by JetBlue, headed to San Juan, Puerto Rico, from Fort Lauderdale, according to the website. The flight was diverted back to Fort Lauderdale International.
JetBlue and SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
SpaceX's Starship mega-rocket has exploded in two of its previous tests.
In November 2023, the Super Heavy booster exploded as it returned to Earth while the Starship continued to climb toward space.