FAA warning after SpaceX Starship explosion endangers Caribbean air traffic
Agency says an uncrewed test flight created an extreme safety risk as debris prompted emergency maneuvers by three jets; investigation and upgrades followed.
An FAA warning described an “extreme safety risk” after a SpaceX Starship test flight exploded less than ten minutes after liftoff in January, scattering debris over the Caribbean and prompting three commercial flights to alter course. The flights carried about 450 people in total; air traffic controllers scrambled to avoid debris as planes diverted and declared emergencies. A JetBlue flight bound for San Juan was told its onward journey could only proceed “at your own risk.” In one exchange, the pilot told controllers “Mayday. Mayday. Mayday.” Elon Musk posted on X that “Success is uncertain, but entertainment is guaranteed” after the blast.
According to FAA documents and reporting by The Wall Street Journal, the seventh Starship test flight was uncrewed and launched from Texas, lasting about eight minutes before contact was lost and the vehicle was destroyed. SpaceX described the flight as featuring significant upgrades, including a taller ship at 403 feet, about 300 more tons of propellant, and enhancements to reliability and performance. The company said it aimed to test payload deployment and multiple reentry experiments, including a booster catch, and to return the Super Heavy booster. The test effort followed a previous flight that featured a second booster catch.
The FAA said SpaceX failed to immediately contact the official hotline required for launch failures to inform air traffic controllers. In Miami, controllers learned of debris only after pilots reported encountering it. The agency opened a debris-response review in February and intensified the inquiry after another SpaceX explosion in March, but the review was closed later that month with the agency saying its recommendations had been implemented and that it would seek external expertise for further work. The FAA added that it would not hesitate to act if additional safety measures are required and that it expects to oversee a robust launch rate, targeting 200 to 400 rocket launches annually, much of it from SpaceX’s Starship.
SpaceX outlined further upgrades: the latest Starship stood about 403 feet tall, with a redesigned upper-stage propulsion system capable of carrying 25 percent more propellant, and slimmer, repositioned forward flaps to reduce heat exposure during reentry. The company also added sensor protections on the clamped boosters used to catch the booster and announced ten dummy satellites for release during flight, matching the size of Starlink satellites. It said the mission would attempt Starship’s first payload deployment test, fly multiple reentry experiments aimed at ship reuse, and launch and return the Super Heavy booster.
SpaceX did not provide comment for this report. JetBlue said its flights avoided debris and traveled through a temporary no-fly zone. Musk, whose company is pursuing Mars ambitions, had previously described Starship’s goal as ultimately enabling human life on Mars. The company has not had a successful launch since October, when its fifth flight test succeeded before the sixth, which was witnessed by President-elect Trump in November, ending with a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico.