Above: Starship achieves hot-stage separation in space during its 7th test flight. Credit: SpaceX
Starship’s 7th test flight on Jan. 16 was fraught with both success and failure. The launch began as planned, with the mega-rocket lifting off from Starbase in Texas just before dawn. After a successful hot stage separation, the booster rocket returned to its launch tower, caught mid-air by a pair of chopstick arms—a second-ever successful catch of the Super Heavy booster.

Fiery debris stream across the skies over the Caribbean islands after Starship’s upper stage spacecraft exploded during flight. Credit: SpaceX
While the booster returned to the launchpad as planned, the upper stage spacecraft met an explosive and abrupt end just after separation. About eight minutes into flight, SpaceX lost contact with Starship and soon discovered it had exploded over the Bahamas in the Atlantic Ocean. Residents of the area witnessed a colorful stream of fiery debris cascading across the skies overhead.
SpaceX said this latest iteration of Starship had been redesigned and outfitted with a suite of new upgrades. The mission aimed to rigorously test these new additions and the explosion did not come as a shock to the team. Post-mission data revealed the explosion was caused by a fire in the aft section of the ship.
Following the test, SpaceX posted on the social platform X: “Starship experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly during its ascent burn… With a test like this, success comes from what we learn, and today’s flight will help us improve Starship’s reliability.”
SpaceX has many more test flights planned for the reusable Starship in 2025. Starship 8 is already built and undergoing pre-flight testing.