Elon Musk reacts to SpaceX Starship explosion: ‘Just a …’

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has shared his response after a Starship prototype exploded during an on-ground test in Texas. The tech billionaire took to the social media platform X (earlier Twitter) to acknowledge this incident, which is a setback in SpaceX’s Mars ambitions and even shared information explaining what caused this mishap. The latest incident involved Starship 36 undergoing a

static fire test

at SpaceX’s Starbase facility, which authorities described as a "catastrophic failure." The test, which involved firing the rocket’s engines while it remained anchored, resulted in an explosion shortly after 11:00 PM local time (9.30 AM IST). Videos of the incident were also shared online that captured the moment of the explosion, showing a sudden flash followed by a massive fireball engulfing both the rocket and the launch tower.

What Elon Musk said about the Starship explosion

The first reaction that came from Musk after the explosion was: “Just a scratch”

Soon after, he wrote, “Room for improvement,” replying to a post that repeated his first reaction and included photos of the recent explosion as well as previous such incidents.After that, Musk replied to another post that read: “Wow…. Definitely came from the upper half / header tanks area… man… this is crazy 😕”Responding to this post, the SpaceX CEO further explained: “Preliminary data suggests that a nitrogen COPV in the payload bay failed below its proof pressure. If further investigation confirms that this is what happened, it is the first time ever for this design.”SpaceX also confirmed the explosion in a statement shared on X and described it as a “major anomaly.” The company reassured the public that safety measures were followed and stressed that “there are no hazards to nearby communities.”“On Wednesday, June 18 at approximately 11 p.m. CT, the Starship preparing for the tenth flight test experienced a major anomaly while on a test stand at Starbase. A safety clear area around the site was maintained throughout the operation and all personnel are safe and accounted for.Our Starbase team is actively working to safe the test site and the immediate surrounding area in conjunction with local officials. There are no hazards to residents in surrounding communities, and we ask that individuals do not attempt to approach the area while safing operations continue,” the Musk-led space tech company wrote on X