In pictures: SpaceX’s Starship explodes in spectacular fireball

Take a look at our gallery of amazing images of the inaugural flight of Starship, which proved to be quite an explosive event.

By James Cutmore

Published: Thursday, 20 April 2023 at 12:00 am

The Starship rocket, the most powerful ever built, has experienced a ‘rapid unscheduled disassembly’ on its first test flight. The rocket successfully cleared the launch tower and had reached an altitude of over 35km when the first stage booster failed to separate, sending the rocket into a spin. After a few moments the rocket then exploded.

In the build-up to launch, SpaceX had expressed limited ambition for this first test. Their main aim was to clear the launch tower, which was achieved after a very brief interruption during the final countdown. The excitement at SpaceX’s Starbase was palpable, and even though the rocket did not complete its mission, there was a lot of celebration on the ground.

It is hoped that all the information gathered on this first flight will ensure that the next test of Starship is more successful.

Starship is the most powerful rocket ever built; twice as powerful as the Saturn V rocket used to take humans to the Moon in 1969, according to SpaceX. It is also fully reusable, making it far cheaper to operate, and allowing a quicker turnaround between missions.

The rocket needs to be powerful in order to transport large payloads of equipment for potential crewed missions to the Moon and Mars as part of NASA’s Artemis programme. The success of Starship’s future tests therefore represent an important step towards exploring other planets in the next few years.

All go for first launch attempt

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SpaceX’s Starship rocket stands on the launchpad at South Padre Island, Texas, USA, on 16 April 2023, the day before its first launch attempt. Photo by SpaceX/Flickr

Gathering crowds

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Crowds gather at the launch site of SpaceX’s Starship, at South Padre Island, Texas, USA, on 17 April 2023. Photo by SpaceX/Flickr

Last minute hitch

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The Starship rocket stands on the launchpad from the SpaceX Starbase in Boca Chica as seen from South Padre Island, Texas, USA on 17 April 2023. Liftoff of the giant rocket was called off just minutes ahead of the scheduled launch time because of a pressurisation issue, SpaceX officials said. Photo by Patrick T Fallon/AFP/Getty Images

Attempting to fix the problem

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Workers prepare the SpaceX Starship as the sun sets behind them ahead of the launch from the SpaceX Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, USA, on 18 April 2023. The launch of the rocket was rescheduled for 20 April 2023, after a technical glitch forced a halt to the countdown. Photo by Patrick T Fallon/AFP/Getty Images

Early morning start for second launch attempt

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The SpaceX Starship, seen from South Padre Island, Texas, USA, sits on the launchpad in the early-morning mist, 20 April 2023. Photo by Patrick T. Fallon/AFP/Getty Images

Lift off

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Starship is seen as the first stage ignites and the inaugural flight begins. Photo by SpaceX

First stage looks good

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The SpaceX Starship lifts off from the launchpad during a flight test from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, on 20 April 20, 2023. Photo by Patrick T Fallon/AFP/Getty Images

More images from BBC Science Focus:

We’ve had a problem…

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A little under 3 minutes into the flight, the first and second stages of Starship fail to separate, causing the rocket to spin. Photo by SpaceX

Explosive end

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After managing to stay airborne for nearly four minutes, Starship explodes, before falling back to Earth. Photo by SpaceX