A SpaceX Starship prototype fails in space on Jan. 16, 2025, minutes after launching from Texas, setting back the company's speedy rocket development efforts in a mission that is expected to debut a key satellite deployment demonstration. SpaceX's Starship system, a heavily upgraded version standing roughly 37 stories tall, lifted off from the company's Boca Chica, Texas, launch facilities at 5:38 p.m. EST (2238 GMT) in the company's seventh test mission, and first such test this year. The Starship upper stage, two meters (6.56 feet) taller than previous versions, was a "new generation ship with significant upgrades," SpaceX said in a mission description prior to the test. It was due to make a controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean roughly an hour after its launch from Texas. SpaceX has not seen a Starship second stage fail since its second test mission in March last year, when the rocket was reentering Earth's atmosphere and broke apart.
SPACEX / REUTERS
